Monthly Archives: September 2014

Everywhere you look, stories are being written about doctors, nurses and the medical profession in general. We do a round up...

There's really no escaping them. They make the worlds they inhabit healthier places. On television, in film, in popular culture and in real life, doctors, nurses and their ilk are indispensable. In fact, this year, more than any other, in recent memory, we've witnessed something of an overwhelming inclination to cover their kind, in comedies, dramas etc across the board. In fact, real-life docs to the celebrities ( Hollywood, to be specific) found their time in the sun when The Hollywood recently listed over 480 medicine-men (and women) in their latest issue. Three Indian names were listed 'industry favourites'. Bollywood's inclusion of doctors in scripts has been consistent and this year, too, it didn't disappoint. Indian celebrity doctors, too, have remained in the news.

IN BOLLYWOOD Phantom: Katrina Kaif supposedly plays a Pakistani doctor Dr Cabbie: Vinay Virmani plays mobile doctor, Deepak Chopra (no, really!) Khoobsurat: Sonam Kapoor's Dr Milli Chakraborty is less of a physiotherapist and more of a troublemaker and incorrigible selfie-taker Humshakals: Esha Gupta's character, Dr Dhwani Gupta is as clueless as they come Kick: As psychiatrist Dr Shaina Mehra, Jacqueline Fernandez spends more time moping about her love life than listening to her patients Heartless: As the conniving Dr Sameer Saxena, Shekhar Suman conspires to kill off his patient and friend, played by real-life son Adhyayan in the film

IN HOLLYWOOD Cancer, AIDS-HIV, ALS, the ER all made it to the screen this year Code Black: A documentary about a notorious trauma bay in an inner-city ER earns its keep as the 'hurt locker of medicine' as new, idealistic and adrenaline-seeking doctors train in an environment akin to a war-zone. The Fault In Our Stars: About Hazel and Gus, who meet at a cancer support group and fall in love despite Hazel constantly needing oxygen support and Gus joking about his prosthetic leg. The Normal Heart: Based on the play by Larry Kramer, has Julia Roberts play Dr Brookner, a physician and survivor of polio (and so, uses a wheelchair), who bemoans the lack of medical knowledge on an illness plaguing the gay community and asks them to abstain from sex for their own safety The Theory of Everything: The love story of the physicist Dr Stephen Hawking and Jane Wilde, the literature student he fell in love with whilst studying at Cambridge in the 1960s. Also features his struggle with ALS.

ON TELEVISION/ NEW SHOWS A Young Doctor's Notebook And Other Stories: Currently in its second season in the UK, this British dark comedy is adapted from the autobiographical works of the Russian author and playwright Mikhail Bulgakov, and his struggle with morphine addiction. While it hasn't aired here yet (wonder why not), it does star Daniel Radcliffe and Jon Hamm. Need more reasons to check it out? Red Band Society: Follows six teenagers who create a pact to live and bond together... in hospital Rush: Dr William Rush is highly discreet no matter what the ailment as long as the client can pay his cash-only premium The Knick: A look at the professional and personal lives of the staff at New York's Knickerbocker Hospital during the early part of the 20th century. Stars Clive Owen Remedy: Griffin Conner comes home having dropped out of medical school and gets a job as an orderly at the hospital where his dad and sisters work. Complications: Yet to premiere, it's about John Ellis, a disillusioned suburban ER doctor, who finds his existence transformed when he intervenes in a drive-by shooting Night Shift: A group of Army doctors return to work on the night shift at a hospital in San Antonio. Forever: Ioan Gruffudd (Fantastic 4's Mr Fantastic?) stars as a 200-year-old man works in the New York City Morgue as a medical examiner trying to find a key to unlock the curse of his immortality. The Lottery: Set in a dystopian future when women have stopped having children, "The Lottery" reveals a world staring down the barrel of impending extinction. Black Box: A short-lived 13-episode series, it aired in April and is about famous neurologist Catherine Black, who secretly has bipolar disorder;

ON TELEVISION/ RETURNING SHOWS Grey's Anatomy: Season 11 in the US, 10th season here on Zee Cafe. Grey's Anatomy focuses on young people struggling to be doctors and doctors struggling to stay human. The Mindy Project (Season 3) Mindy Lahiri is looking to date and meet the perfect guy. Mindy is a skilled OB/GYN and shares a practice with a few other doctors, none of whom make life any easier for her. Nurse Jackie: (Season 6): Edie Falco stars as the title character Jackie O'Hurley, a strong-willed and brilliant - but very flawed - emergency room nurse in a complicated New York City hospital. Masters of Sex (Season 2): Dr William Masters and Virginia Johnson were the real-life pioneers of the science of human sexuality. The series chronicles the unusual lives, romance and pop culture trajectory of Masters and Johnson. Hart Of Dixie: (season 3 ended in May) Rachel Bilson as Dr. Zoe Hart, a New Yorker who, after her dreams of becoming a heart surgeon fall apart, accepts an offer to work as a general practitioner in the Gulf Coast town of Bluebell, Alabama. Getting On (Season 2): Based on the hit British series, the show, set in the women's extended-care facility of a Long Beach hospital , follows the lives of doctors and nurses.

OTHER RETURNING SHOWS: Royal Pains, Sirens, Saving Hope, Call The Midwife, Doc Martin, Web Therapy, Bones

RERUNS ON INDIAN TV Combat Hospital: The show ended in 2013. Is currently airing on Star World in India Doogie Howser MD: We grew up with Neil Patrick Harris. Currently airing on Comedy Central Frasier: A family of doctors, one had his own radio show. On CC American Horror Story Asylum: This one was mental... literally. On FX M.A.S.H.: This much-loved comedy classic is currently airing on CC House: Internationally, has ended. In India, reruns are on Star World

HOLLYWOOD'S INDUSTRY FAVOURITES (INDIAN NAMES IN THR LISTING) Dr Soram Khalsa (Internist): Not of Indian origin, but converted to Sikhism. Counts Morgan Freeman as a celebrity client Dr Prediman K Shah (Cardiocavascular Disease): THR reports that Dr. Shah performed Saturday Night Live veteran Dana Carvey's fourth angioplasty, which was a success. They've "worked together" as doctor-patient and friends ever since. Dr Inderbir Singh Gill (Urologist): A world renowned expert in kidney surgery, he has a friend in former patient for kidney cancer, DreamWorks Studios chief Jeff Small. Gill's treatment left Small cancer-free. OTHER INDIAN DOCTORS LISTED: Dr Sonu S. Ahluwalia - Orthopaedic Surgery, Dr Uttam K Sinha - ENT, Dr Vikram V Kamdar - Endocrinology, Dr Arun P Amar - Neurosurgeon, Dr Narsing A Rao - Opthalmology, Dr Sonya Gohill - Paeditrician, Dr Nanda Kerkar - Paediatric Gastroenterology, Dr Neena Kapoor - Pediatric hematology/oncology

BOLLYWOOD'S FAVOURITE DOCTORS Dr PK Aggarwal: A general practioner, he is Bollywood's A-List's go-to doctor for the littlest and largest of emergencies. His son's wedding had most of Bollywood in attendance. Dr Firuza Parikh: This fertility expert is the name behind Farah Khan's successful pregnancy. She's also a published author. Dr Vijay Vaishnav - A homeopath, his website lists the Roshans, the Akhtars and Manoj Bajpayee as patients. Dr Jamuna Pai: This cosmetic physician, is on the panel of most beauty pageants. Dr Manoj Khanna: This doctor, known for successful hair transplants, has Govinda, Charu Sharma and others for clients

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What's up, docs?