Doctor: A Wholesome Entertaining Film From Director Nelson And Team
I love watching movies. The last movie that I saw in the theatre was Darbar starring Rajinikanth and Nayantara. Darbar was quite a terrible experience. All thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of the films were released on OTT platforms and I couldn’t visit the theatres. This year the theatres started opening up with 100% occupancy. Finally, my friends and I decided to head to the nearest theatre to watch Nelson’s directorial venture “Doctor” starring Sivakarthikeyan, Priyanka Mohan, VJ Archana, and many others. The music director of this movie is Anirudh Ravichander. The movie “Doctor” had to release in the summer of 2020 but due to the pandemic, it got postponed to October 2021. The movie is a wonderful blend of thriller and dark comedy genres. In this blog, I will be sharing my review on Nelson’s latest directorial venture “Doctor”.
My Expectations From The Movie Before Entering Into The Theatre
Nelson and his team had a very unique way of marketing this movie. They released their three songs with unique promos featuring Sivakarthikeyan, Anirudh Ravichander, and Nelson.
The filmmakers were releasing interesting and intriguing posters on their official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram handles at regular intervals. After listening to the songs and seeing the official posters, I was eagerly waiting for this movie to hit the silver screen.
On 25th September 2021, the trailer of the movie was released on YouTube. The trailer started giving me vibes of Nani’s Gangleader which was released way back in 2019.
Nani’s Gangleader revolved around four women and a child joining hands with Nani to seek revenge against the antagonist. There were a few frames in the trailer that was very similar to that of Nani’s Gangleader. Nani’s Gangleader and Nelson’s Doctor have the same heroine and same music director.
Therefore, I was expecting a storyline very similar to that of Nani’s Gangleader in Doctor. After watching the movie yesterday, I found a lot of positive aspects and barely any negative aspects.
The Plot Of The Film(No Spoilers Included)
The story is based on virgin trade and child trafficking. The plot revolves around a girl child who gets kidnapped. The family goes in search of their child along with the hero. The approaches used by the family along with the hero to nab the child trafficking nexus make the crux of the film.
I don’t intend to spoil the film for you. I just gave a brief of the plot as a part of my review. The movie has twists and turns which are worth to be witnessed on the silver screen.
The Aspects Of The Movie That Worked Out Very Well For Me
Nelson’s Engaging Script & Storyline
The story revolves around serious issues like the virgin trade and human trafficking. Director Nelson has penned down a well-researched script. The screenplay keeps you hooked on the screen.
Nelson’s directorial venture “Doctor” proves that he can blend a serious script with dark humor and still make an engaging and interesting flick. The way he handled the script of Doctor reminds me of his previous venture “Kolamavu Kokila” starring Nayantara and Yogi Babu in the lead roles in a story based on illicit drug trafficking.
Splendid Performance By The Leading Stars & Co-Stars
Sivakarthikeyan is known for his comic roles on the silver screen. In most of the movies before Doctor, he is always seen delivering lengthy dialogues, mimicking Rajinikanth, and obsessively stalking the female lead.
Sivakarthikeyan plays a very serious role in the movie. Sivakarthikeyan as Dr. Varun is an out-of-the-box performance. This movie will go down as one of the best roles in his filmography.
Priyanka Arul Mohan makes an impressive debut with Doctor. She played the role of Padmini whose character arc was a bit similar to her role in Nani’s Gangleader. Her innocence and charm are a bonus to the story.
Every entertaining story needs strong and engaging performances from the supporting actors along with the leading actors. The movie Doctor has got some of the most talented co-stars on board. Preethi and Sumathi played by Deepa Shankar and Archana Chandhoke gave the movie an emotional edge. Navneeth played by Arun Alexander does justice to his role in the movie. Illavarasu scores well in both comic and serious scenes. This is the last movie of Arun Alexander as an actor.
The Flamboyant Comedy Track
Nelson’s previous directorial venture Kolamavu Kokila was celebrated by the critics and the audience for the dark humor and the comedy track in a film based on a serious issue. On a very similar note, this movie has the best comedy track with comedians giving hilarious counters and making the audience laugh out loud. The comedy track of this movie was flamboyant and not forced into the movie.
Yogi Babu is arguably one of the most bankable comedians in Kollywood right now. He delivers such a splendid performance in this movie with his dark humor dialogues and instant counter dialogues.
Director Nelson introduced us to Redin Kingsley in his previous directorial venture. Redin Kingsley gets the appreciation of the audience for every joke he cracks. Redin Kingsley and Yogi Babu make a formidable comic duo making this film an enjoyable one. The scenes involving the “Ara Kai(Hit The Hand)” game made the audience go on a laughing spree. Apart from the Yogi Babu and Redin Kingsley duo, Sunil Ready and Shiva Anand have an impeccable comedy track that is indeed a laughter riot.
Ruthless And Powerful Villains
Every thriller film needs a team of powerful villains who are fearsome and ruthless. These villains need to be like a devil with a big cunning smile on their faces and vicious thoughts running like horses in their minds. Nelson has got some of the most talented performers on board to play the antagonists.
Melvin and Alvin were played by Rajiv Lakshman and Raghu Raman were ruthless and brutal. Rajiv Lakshman and Raghu Raman make their Kollywood debut with Doctor. Especially the metro train fight sequence featuring Sivakartikeyan, Rajiv Lakshman, and Raghu Raman was lit.
Vinay Rai is known for the iconic chocolate boy roles in Kollywood. Off lately, he started donning the negative shade. I loved his performance as an antagonist in Thupparivaalan directed by Mysskin. He holds an edge in this movie playing the role of a cunning and ruthless Terry. He just grabs the attention of the audience with his persona as Terry. He should continue playing the baddie in many more films in the future.
Anirudh’s Soundtrack & Background Score
The music by Anirudh elevates the scenes to a whole new level. The movie has three songs as a part of the soundtrack. . Sivakarthikeyan has penned down the lyrics for “So Baby” and “Chellamma”. The song “So Baby” is a western classical song with catchy lyrics sung by Anirudh Ravichander & Ananthakkrishnan. The song “Chellamma” is sung by Anirudh Ravichander & Jonita Gandhi. The songs do not hamper the audience's attention towards the movie.
“Nenjame” is an emotional and sad song that can bring tears down the cheeks.
The background score by Anirudh set the most of ordinary scenes to extraordinary ones. The Soul of Doctor Theme was everyone's favorite. The audience went wild for the Soul of DoctorTheme when it was being played in the pre-climax scene. Do not be surprised, if you get to listen to the Soul of Doctor Theme as someone’s caller tune or mobile ringtone.
I am eagerly waiting for the Original Soundtrack of this movie.
Top-Notch Production Value
The film has been made with a budget of Rs 25 Cr which is three times higher than the budget of his previous venture, Kolamavu Kokila. National Award Winning Stunt Choreographer Anbariv choreographed some of the best and most realistic stunt sequences. The cinematography by Vijay Kartik Kannan takes the audience into the director’s cinematic universe. The producers Sivakarthikeyan and Kotapadi J. Rajesh made sure that no stone is left unturned in making an entertaining flick like Doctor with fabulous technicians on board.
The Aspects Of The Movie That Didn’t Work Out Very Well For Me
The film is a flawless entertainer but there were a few scenes that were a bit illogical. Sivakarthikeyan was always serious throughout the entire film. He was more or less like a robot. I wish he was given a few comic dialogues and scenes. The songs have been placed appropriately except the song “Chellamma” which was placed at the end. I still don’t understand the reason behind placing the song“Chellamma” at the end.
Final Verdict
Doctor is a full-fledged entertaining film. The film is a unique blend of action, drama, comedy, and emotions. As a concluding remark, I would like to say,
Nelson once again proved that he can create an engaging film revolving around a serious social issue like virgin trade and human trafficking blended with dark humor. Nelson and Sivakarthikeyan deliver a full fledged entertaining film appealing the critics and the audience.The film has very few flaws which go unnoticed because of the power-packed performances by the actors.Doctor is one such film that made me laugh out loud from the start till the end, all thanks to comedians.After watching Doctor, I am eagerly waiting for Nelson’s next directorial venture “Beast” starring Joseph Vijay, Pooja Hegde and many others.
