Firsts are always special. For her maiden film, director Anubhuti Kashyap knew that she had to tell a story that aligned with her sensibilities. When the concept of Doctor G came her way, Kashyap redesigned the story, lending it sensitivity and maturity.

“The original script had been written by an ex-doctor, and was with Junglee Pictures. They wanted a female director. I was sold on the medical world. [When I heard the premise], I told them I would like to work on it, but I would change the script entirely. They were happy [with the idea]. I brought in another writer, Sumit Saxena, and we worked on it,” she recounts.

The Ayushmann Khurrana, Shefali Shah and Rakul Preet Singh-starrer tells the humorous journey of an aspiring orthopedic surgeon who lands a seat in the gynaecology department, becoming the only male in a woman-dominated field. Kashyap says that she began by understanding the medical world, before reimagining the plot.

“The entire film had to be given a female gaze. Even though the author who had written it is a feminist, he had approached the story [from a male perspective]. He brought in the central character’s perspective, while I brought in every other character’s viewpoint.”

With the film shattering gender roles, she says the central idea was to showcase the everyday misogyny that goes unchecked. “My approach was far more subtle and relatable than what is seen in a traditional Indian commercial movie. It’s a story about today’s educated youth, about today’s men who are sometimes misogynistic and chauvinistic without realising that they are being so. This film tries to make men understand women a little more, and respect them a little more.”

Khurrana, given his penchant for social comedies and his ability to connect with masses, was an obvious choice for Doctor G. The director agrees that the role is tailor-made for him. “After the trailer [was launched], everybody said, ‘Ayushmann is back with his kind of films.’ That was exactly our thought when we pitched the film to him. It is [right up] Ayushmann’s alley because he chooses concept-heavy movies.”