Dr Arora releases on Sony LIV: Why I'm upset with Imtiaz Ali as a human, woman and journalist

Dr Arora stars Kumud Mishra in the lead role and is set in the late 90s/early 2000s.

Dr Arora.

PS: Major spoilers ahead.

When a cinephile hears Imtiaz Ali, you have a certain expectation from this filmmaker who has brought out the best in actors like Ranbir Kapoor, Deepika Padukone and Saif Ali Khan. There was a time when Imtiaz would take people on a journey through his characters travelling in his films. While the characters explored themselves, the viewers learned something new about this character – to the extent that sometimes you would meet a new person altogether, like in the case of Ranbir Kapoor’s Ved in Tamasha.

Currently though, it looks like the filmmaker has been jinxed. If he gives one project which is watchable, the others end up being unbearable. If Imtiaz gave us the second season of She (also starring Aaditi Pohankar in the lead role as Bhumika) recently, he now gave us Dr Arora (with Kumud Mishra in the lead role of Vishesh Arora) which is so full of loops that even my conscience is terrified to state that I have been a fan of his work.

Chalo given that Imtiaz has set the plot in the 90s but this filmmaker really needs to understand his audience of today. Even his biggest fans cannot forgive him for something as grave as stalking and incorrect reporting.

Even as you follow the journey of Dr Arora and want to overlook many things because of the era, still a part of you knows what's wrong is wrong. You cannot glorify the wrong. Imtiaz does exactly that.

In this world of Dr Arora, Imtiaz creates characters who are too proud to admit that they have something called erectile dysfunction. Everything was okay till then. However, turning scenes into a laughing matter is not okay. Right from the first patient being shocked to see Dr. Arora treat a woman to making a false case against the doctor, everything about this show smells bad. It needs to be thrown away, not decorated for viewership once again.

The series sees every man have a high sexual drive and the women are once again a baby-making machine. They have literally no voice of their own, which is so unfair to every woman who has fought and come out of these situations today. Imtiaz thinks it is okay to give Dr. Arora's Vaishali a voice because she has a sex drive but not when she should address the elephant in the room? Agreed that Dr. Arora waited for 17 years for his old love but Vaishali is not blind. She noticed him for 17 years. There was a reason that she did not approach him. The core of the show in itself is so wrong because stalking, once again! While for most of the part, the makers lead you to believe it is love, you get to know that it was always revenge. When will Imtiaz stop feeding male ego and focus on writing better parts for females? Is he still stuck in the 90s himself?

It pains me to watch this project because I have always been fond of Imtiaz's work but with this one, he raises the obvious question - has Imtiaz Ali really lost his charm? It sure seems so.

With Dr. Arora, Imtiaz was on a mission to upset everyone. Not only has he upset me as a human and woman but also a journalist. We see generations running a newspaper on this show. They sell fake news for business. Really? Is this the standard we're drooping at? Even I cannot disagree that news is a business and it needs viewership to sustain but no journalist has ever fallen to this extent because we know the laws and nobody wants to be behind bars. A basic research would have gone long way, no?

When the trailer of Dr. Arora released, it promised a breezy, quirky premise. However, what we have been delivered is a pile of insensitive material which in no way makes sense in today's times. No, not even if it is set in the 90s. Promoting the thought is wrong. Period.

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