Dhadkan

Dhadkan (2003) was a medical drama which was aired on Sony Entertainment Television. It featured an ensemble cast and featured a new story arc every week. Dhadkan portrayed the life of doctors in the hospital setting in a very realistic fashion. In fact, Dhadkan featured several talented and accomplished actors as cast members like Suresh Oberoi, Reema Lagoo, Ram Kapoor and Sushant Singh among many others. I personally liked watching Dhadkan more than its competitor at the time - Sanjivani - A Medical Boon. Where Sanjivani was about the lives of interns and their personal experiences, Dhadkan was about life in a hospital setting.

As I mentioned earlier, Dhadkan featured hospital life in a very realistic fashion. The sets of Dhadkan were so meticulously designed. It looked like an actual hospital. Every week Dhadkan featured a new story arc with new patients and situations thrown at the doctors. Each week viewers watched as the doctors sometimes succeeded and sometimes failed at treating their patients. It was partly educational and helped bring sensitive topics like abortion and AIDS to the forefront. Along with all of that Dhadkan also shed light on the personal lives of the doctors who so bravely faced their daily challenges - personal and professional.

Dr. Raj Pradhan sensitively played by Suresh Oberoi was the senior-doctor of the Hospital. He was extremely dedicated to his profession. Suresh Oberoi was perfectly cast as Dr. Pradhan. He was sensitive when he had to be and stern when needed. I especially loved the sequence where Dr. Pradhan's dedication to his profession is tested. While Dr. Pradhan was operating on a victim of the riots, he finds out that his daughter was brutally raped during the same riots. Yet instead of leaving to tend to his daughter, he completes surgery and then goes to her aid. Dhadkan was riddled with such situations that tested the doctors' loyalty to their profession and each time they selflessly prove their worth.

Ram Kapoor was aptly cast as Dr. Rajiv Agarwal, the head psychiatrist of the hospital. He was caring and genuine. He was the kind of doctor who tried to help his patients every way he can but never stepped beyond the boundaries set by his profession. All that changed when he finds Chanchal (Gautami Gadgil) hiding under his desk. During her treatment, he finds out that she has an abusive relative who constantly torments her. In his efforts to help her, her realizes that he cares for her more than he cares for his other patients. His behavior suggests that he is in love with Chanchal. Needless to say Ram and Gautami shared amazing chemistry and brought the right amount tension between Rajiv and Chanchal. As a viewer I was constantly rooting for Rajiv and Chanchal.

Mallika Sareen was another important character. Achint Kaur was cast as Ms. Sareen. Ms. Sareen was the CEO of the hospital. Her main focus was to keep the hospital running profitably. Achint played her character to the T. Ms. Sareen wasn't shy when it came to expressing to the doctors that they needed to watch what they were doing. She wasn't shy about kicking patients to the curb if it meant keeping the hospital running profitably. If the doctors were the heart and soul of Dhadkan, Ms. Sareen was the shrewd business minded executive. She was strictly business and extremely professional. It wouldn't be a surprise to anyone that she wasn't a favorite among the doctors.

Along with the senior established doctors, Dhadkan also featured two relatively new doctors, Dr. Aditi and Dr. Rehaan. Kishwar Merchant played Dr. Aditi whereas Kabir Sadanand essayed the role of Dr. Rehaan. Aditi and Rehaan were the newbies in the hospital. They have strong chemistry between them but they are unwilling to let it get in the way of their ambitions. They want to become amazing doctors and don't want to let love or attraction to get in their way. Just when it seems like everything is over for Rehaan, Aditi steps up and clears his name. At first they can't seem to stand each other's presence, but later on they develop a tentative friendship. It soon becomes clear that both share feelings for the other. Rehaan acts on his whereas Aditi chooses to keep mum.

All of these characters and the variety of situations is what made Dhadkan special to me. Dhadkan didn't have any family drama. It wasn't overly emotional or melodramatic. In fact it was the most realistically filmed hospital drama in my opinion. I have yet to see a hospital drama like Dhadkan. What I appreciated the most was that Dhadkan did not shy away from portraying the shady practices of dishonest doctors. The one message Dhadkan gave its viewers was that doctors are not Gods. They do make mistakes and sometimes the consequences of their mistakes are costly. In spite of being an award winning show,  I was shocked when Dhadkan was shut down only after a few months of being on air. I believe that it was way ahead of its time. Had it come on air now, it would easily become the most watched show.

Most of all, I would love to re-watch the show but I can't seem to find videos anywhere. Here's hoping Sony Entertainment uploads the series on its YouTube channel...