MUMBAI: While we are all locked up safely in our homes, waiting for the Coronavirus to end, there are doctors and the entire medical fraternity out there emerging as frontline warriors globally who are putting an effort to contain this deadly disease. With doctors risking their own lives and their families, clocking in days at the hospitals without sleep, attending an endless line of patients, it’s not hard to imagine why people chose this selfless profession and the value they bring to not just our lives, but our nation too! And yet, their journey goes unnoticed by most of us as long as we are getting treated and at the right cost. Throwing the spotlight on this nerve-racking journey of medicos is Dice Media’s most recent web series, ‘Operation MBBS’. Operation MBBS, created in partnership with Unacademy, has been on top of the web charts lately; it has crossed more than 45 million views, with each episode averaging at 7.8 million views. The anticipation of the series was so high that over 136,000 people tuned in live to watch the premiere of the finale episode.

Set in the backdrop of a private MBBS college, and directed by ­ Amrit Raj Gupta of Gullak fame, the series showcases the story of three first-year MBBS students coming from diverse backgrounds – Nishant (Ayush Mehra), Sakshi (Anshul Chauhan), and Huma (Sarah Hashmi). While Sakshi is the idealistic medical student wanting to become a doctor to save lives, Huma cares about the fame and respect that comes with the profession as well. Nishant, on the other hand, is studying medicine just because his dad is a doctor. These reasons for wanting to become a doctor really resonated with audiences. Operation MBBS also tackles serious issues around the medical field like doctor violence, the amount of time and money it takes to become a doctor, exam pressure, etc. 'MBBS khoon mangta hai' very aptly became the most popular dialogue of the series. The finale episode, which shows the trio saving a life, is the perfect reward for their struggles.

Commenting on the success of the series, Aditi Shrivastava, Co-founder, Pocket Aces, said, 'We’ve seen a lot of content around the engineering community, but the doctor community has mostly only been shown in a unidimensional  light – in hospitals. No one has ever talked about WHY different types of people want to go through the grueling five years to become a doctor. This was our attempt with Operation MBBS, and from the comments, we are so happy to see that we’ve really touched a chord with MBBS aspirants, students, and doctors alike. This is also Dice Media’s first college show, and I’m proud to see that we’ve succeeded in creating a show that is not frivolous, but rather focused on the realities. Operation MBBS is also our first drama series, and you will see a lot more hard hitting relatable drama from us this year.'

Director Amrit Raj Gupta said, 'I have 2 doctors in my family and could see their struggle every single day right from my childhood. Directing a show like Operation MBBS made me more aware about the hardships a medical aspirant goes through and how noble and at the same time stressful, the profession of doctors is. From appearing in NEET examination to 5 and a half years of rigorous studies, MBBS teaches you patience, resilience, hard work, ability to fight and the trickiest of all, human body etc. Hats off to all those who put their lives into a course like MBBS to eventually save our lives, which is the biggest high in my opinion. I think with the show we have successfully managed to strike a chord with MBBS students, motivated those who were about to appear in NEET to take up MBBS and eventually doctors who felt nostalgic watching the show. My team and I have immense respect for all the doctors all the more now knowing what they go through in being one.'

Amrit was supported by a brilliant team that made this project a success including writers Ayesha Nair, Puneet Batra and Dr. Pravin Yadav, creative director Ajay Kumar, supervising producer Venkat Ravichandar, executive producer Tony Arora, DOP Aniruddha Patankar, and several others.

The web-series has garnered more than 60,000 comments on YouTube alone and what’s noteworthy is that a majority of them are actually from current MBBS students and established doctors across India. Winning accolades for its originality and relatability, the show has definitely managed to create nostalgia for all the doctors by taking them back to their first year where it all began! The audience is already demanding season 2!

SOURCE – THE DIGITAL RHASH