Doctors stars Sharad Kelkar, Harleen Sethi say OTT enables realism: 'On TV, you couldn't even show death'

Sharad Kelkar and Harleen Sethi, stars of JioCinema's show Doctors, explain why such a realistic show was not possible on TV.

There have been medical dramas on Indian television before, but not with the kind of realism that the West has shown. As Viraf Patell, star of Doctors, says, "They may have played doctors, but the real drama would often happen in their personal lives." A new Indian show, Doctors, has attempted to change that, bringing into focus the lives of the men and women in the hospital as well. Stars of the series talk to HT about what makes it different. (Also Read – Doctors review: Sharad Kelkar is the beating heart of this brilliant, raw take on medical professionals' lives)

Sharad Kelkar and Harleen Sethi in Doctors.

Television is restrictive when it comes to medical dramas

Harleen Sethi, who plays the show's protagonist Dr Nitya, says that the biggest change is that they can show more reality here. "I was talking to Siddharth P Malhotra, our producer, whose forte has been medical dramas," she says, adding, “He made Sanjeevani and Dil Mill Gayye. He said that when he made medical dramas for TV, they weren't allowed to show death. How do you show characters' nuances when you can't show death or blood in a medical show.”

There is more detailing in OTT shows

Her co-star Sharad Kelkar, a veteran of television and cinema, agrees that the detailing in streaming is much more. "The detailing is much different on OTT. That is missing on TV. And the audience is not interested either. They want to see more drama than the detailing in television shows," he argues.

OTT allows shows to touch sensitive issues

The actors say that the focus on more realism and detailing allowed the show to touch on issues that would have been impossible on primetime TV. "The kind of illnesses and issues we have talked about here – from euthanasia to organ donation – that is not possible on television," says Harleen.

Apart from Sharad, Harleen, and Viraf, Doctors also stars Aamir Ali and Vivaan Shah. The show began streaming on JioCinema on December 27.