Picture
this.
A
mother
watches
her
young
son
being
wheeled
into
the
operation
theatre
for
a
minor
operation.
The
child
never
returns.
Medical
negligence
is
passe.
Medical
arrogance
is
the
new
menace.
Enter
a
high-end
seven-star
hospital
and
you're
bound
to
run
into
the
incredibly
arrogant
Dr.
Asthana
(
Kay
Kay
Menon,
back
in
fabulous
form),
who
addresses
the
media
as
though
he
was
obliging
them
by
giving
out
information
and
who
tells
his
junior,
"Medicine
is
not
just
about
healing.
It's
also
about
making
money.
Who
pays
the
bills
of
those
who
can't
afford
them?
The
rich
of
course."
But
of
course.
The
pragmatism
underscoring
the
Hippocratic
Oath
bypasses
the
young
idealistic
Rohan(Arjun
Mathur),
the
intern
who
dares
to
speak
out
of
turn
to
question
Dr.
Asthana's
supreme
authority
in
the
hospital.
Taking
the
conflict
between
the
blase
megalomaniacal
medicine-man
and
the
idealistic
intern
as
the
central
point
in
the
plot,
Vikram
Bhatt
has
written
a
script
that
is
partly
a
conscience-pricking
morality
tale,
and
partly
a
racy
thriller
set
in
the
spick-and-span
corridors
of
a
high-end
hospital
where,
for
the
record,
an
eminent
surgeon
has
just
goofed
up.
But
shhhh!
No
one
in
his
intimidated
medical
team
is
allowed
to
speak
of
his
horrid
faux
pas.
The
"Ankur
Arora
Murder
Case" is
one
of
the
most
gripping
moral
dramas
in
recent
times.
The
deftly
crafted
script
raises
the
question
of
right
and
wrong
in
the
medical
profession
without
getting
peachy
or
hysterical.
Somewhere,
Dr.
Asthana's
medical
arrogance
connects
with
each
one
of
us
who
has
in
one
way
or
another
encountered
deadends
in
healthcare.
Looking
at
Kay
Kay
Menon's
brilliantly
underscored
emphatically
italicised
performance,
I
finally
understood
what
was
meant
by
the
Biblical
proverb,
"Physician,
heal
thyself".
Many
portions
of
the
pacy
plot
would
seem
excessively
racy.
The
post-interval
helping
seems
specially
eager
to
seek
out
unexpected
twists
and
turns.
And
that's
fine.
The
idea
of
making
a
film
on
medical
ethics
is
to
ensure
that
audiences'
participation
in
the
proceedings
never
flags.
To
that
extent,
director
Suhail
Tatari
(who
earlier
directed
the
gripping
thriller
'My
Wife's
Murder'),
keeps
the
large
array
of
conflicted
characters
in
a
constant
state
of
self-questioning
anxiety.
It's
cinematically
a
terrific
space
to
be
in.
Tatari
explores
that
space
with
intelligence,
sensitivity
and
some
charm.
While
not
allowing
us
to
forget
that
we
are
watching
a
medical
thriller,
Tatari
also
gives
deepened
shape
to
various
inter-relationships
in
the
plot.
The
characters
are
convincing
and
yet
distant
from
what
we
generally
perceive
to
be
authentic
cinema.
The
narration
moves
on
two
different
levels:
the
headline-inspired
pseudo-documentary
and
the
sprawling
soap
opera
that
life
often
throwns
open
in
situations
that
we
see
as
too
unreal
to
be
happening.
The
performances
in
both
the
first-half
(the
medical
drama)
and
the
second-half
(the
courtroom
conflict)
are
all
supremely
poised.
The
actors
assume
brilliancy
without
getting
compromised
by
the
need
to
shine.
Tisca
Arora's
bereaved
mother's
act
is
so
real
and
restrained!
She
gives
us
goosebumps
when
after
her
son's
death,
she
gets
busy
on
her
smartphone
to
fob
off
the
terrible
reality
of
the
tragedy.
Really,
Tisca
is
one
of
our
most
underrated
actresses.
Kay
Kay
Menon
rediscovers
the
awe-inspiring
actor
within
himself
with
a
performance
that
leaves
us
repelled
and
fascinated.
Arjun
Mathur
as
the
daring
intern
who
takes
on
the
mighty
medicine
man
exudes
integrity
without
brimming
over
with
righteous
indignation.
In
an
era
when
all
our
filmy
heroes
are
growing
stubbles
and
trying
to
look
mean,
Arjun
plays
a
true-blue
old-fashioned
hero
(the
kind
who
used
to
fight
for
the
truth)
in
a
very
contemporary
context
and
style.
Paoli
Dam,
who
had
played
a
sexually
intense
role
in
"Hate
Story",
undergoes
a
personality
volte
face.
As
a
lawyer
battling
on
behalf
of
the
powerful
medical
mafia,
she
pitches
a
poignant
but
strong
performance.
Some
of
the
film's
most
powerful
moments
feature
Paoli
with
her
courtroom
opponent
(Manish
Chaudhury,
brilliant)
in
bed
and
on
the
brink.
The
way
Paoli
and
Tisca
connect
as
two
grieving
mothers,
is
a
masterstroke
of
scripting.
Indeed,
this
is
is
a
far
cleverer,
wiser
and
relevant
film
than
most
of
what
we
get
to
see
these
days.
At
a
time
when
Bollywood
is
raining
bubbles
and
effervescence
about
'jawaani
deewanis'
and
'yamla
paglas',
this
sobering
clenched
disturbing
medical
thriller
comes
as
an
invigorating
cloudburst.
The
film
makes
out
a
scathing
and
rousing
case
against
medical
malpractices.
Bursting
at
the
seams
with
acting
talent,
director
Suhail
Tatari's
restorative
drama
hits
us
where
it
hurts
the
most.
The
conscience.
Director:
Suhail
Tatari
Cast:
Kay
Kay
Menon,
Arjun
Mathur,
Vishakha
Singh,
Paoli
Dam,
Tisca
Chopra
and
Manish
Chaudhary;
Writer:
Vikram
Bhatt