Dr. Arora is a ‘s*x’ doctor/Sexologist (one who treats venereal disease) who runs a small clinic in a town in Jhansi. He helps people who have problems they cannot talk about openly and cure them of their pain. But society isn’t prepared for a man who talks about s*x openly and frames him as the villain. What happens next is the story.
Imitiaz Ali is churning out content in full swing and I am in for this phase of him enjoying the long-format storytelling. But there is a but and we will discuss that later. The filmmaker is the exploring stories that generally won’t be very silver screen friendly as per the notions, on OTT. After a liberating tale (She on Netflix), he explores the manliness and what it exactly means while how our society is loving a taboo as it refrains from discussing s*x outside their bedrooms. Even if it is a medical problem.
Dr. Arora written by Sajid Ali, Arif Ali, Divya Johry with Imtiaz is a compilation of everything and around S*x that we as a society have hidden with a white bedsheet (you see what I did there right?). It is about a man who is suffering from erectile dysfunction but is more concerned about his image in the society than the fact that he is suffering a medical condition. He wears a razor blade around his neck. Ali and team make sure they try and reflect on the real world as much as possible. Set in late 90s the show is set in heartland India and that kind of elevates the plot.
This is Imtiaz’s world and you have to scratch the surface and see what’s beneath. The team create a visual world rather than explaining it verbally. A doctor treating venereal disease happens to run a clinic that sabotages itself as a part-time decorator’s go down. Every bench is facing the wall so the patients can hide their faces. There are large posters of how this man can treat your shortcoming, but his world is equally small. Take Dr. Arora for instance, a very minute detail elevates the character so much. He treats ‘gupt rog’ and thus talks to his patients in almost whispers or a low voice and you are made to believe that is his inherit tone. Till one fine moment he breaks into a song shouting at the top of his voice.
Or let’s just talk about his urge to showcase shades of men in general. A SP of police is mean and brutal on his job but is soft and sweet when alone with his wife. A man tries hard to show the world that he is the epitome of machismo and righteousness but resorts to holding feet to get work done without letting the world know. Or even a politician who is downright misogynist. Imtiaz knows his assignment here. There is a lover who travels every night in train just so he could get a glimpse of his love, I am craving that on the big screen so much.