‘Dil Mill Gaye’, deals with the pressures, romance and humour in the lives of young doctors and medical interns, says Srabanti Chakrabarti
Doctors and their lives always make good stories to watch. Irrespective of whether it is a film or a television serial, stories revolving around the noble medical profession have always hit bull’s eye.
Be it a Dr Zhivago or Munnabhai MBBS on big screen, or a Lifeline or Sanjeevani on small screen, viewers have always been keen to know about the life of doctors beyond scalpels and stethoscopes. And with a liberal sprinkle of romance thrown in these stories, these shows had the audiences glues to their seats at home and in the theatre. That it has stood the test of time can be gauged from the fact that stories based on medical profession have been a hit right from the 60s when Dr Zhivago was made in the early 21st century to when Dill Mill Gaye (pardon the comparison) is being broadcast with high TRPs.
Apart from the serials dealing with social issues (Aap Ki Antara, Aagle Janaam Mohe Bitiya Hi Keejo) and the usual tearjerkers (Bandini, Bidaai), no other serial has been able to garner the kind of popularity that Dill Mill Gaye has got. Largely because of the storyline and universal appeal such themes have, Dill Mill Gaye has been a favourite amongst youngsters and elders alike. The show is back in news with a veiled leap and introduction of five new characters few weeks back.
Dill Mill Gaye is a sequel to the hugely successful Sanjeevani. The plot is the same, the characters similar and issues unchanged, only the actors are new and fresh. The sequel follows the lives of surgical interns and resident doctors of Sanjeevani and deals with the pressures, drama, romance, interpersonal relationships and humour in the lives of the young doctors, just like Sanjeevani.
The serial is also largely responsible for catapaulting Karan Singh Grover to stardom. Before this show, he was just another actor on the television screen, but Dill Mill Gaye made him one of the hottest and most popular actors on the Indian screen. The show also stars Mohnish Behl, Jenifer Winget, Sunaina Gulia, Pankit Thakker and Amit Tandon. However, in its effort to ensure that viewers don’t get bored and keep themselves far away from the remotes when the show is on, the producers and broadcasters have brought about a new twist in the show and introduced five new interns earlier this month. Indirectly, this is also a leap in the serial because the old interns become resident doctors now and give way to the new faces to have all the fun as interns.
According to the official stance of the producers, the sudden changes in the show were integral to retain the freshness of the serial. But rumours have that the new season was kickstarted since Karan Singh Grover is now focusing on his debut feature film and would not be able to spend much time on Dill Mill Gaye. Most of the new interns (apart from Karan Wahi) in the show are relatively new to the television industry — Moulshree Sachdeva, Neha Jhulka, Sehban Azim and Prasad Barve (well-known Marathi actor). The fresh season kicks off with the earlier interns now becoming resident doctors and giving way to a pack of fresh new interns entering the hospital. All the interns come from different walks of life, which make the story and show all the more interesting.
While Tamanna, played by Moulshree, comes from a middle class background and wants to become a doctor to fulfil her father’s dream, Siddhanth Modi, portrayed by current teenage heartthrob Karan Wahi, is a rich spoilt brat from USA, who is pursuing the internship largely owing to his lineage. He is in Sanjeevani against his will, and has been sent by his parents to get a first hand feel of India under the strict supervision of Dr Abhimanyu, who is his cousin.
Naina Mehta (played by Neha Jhulka), on the other hand, is an absolute firebrand lady from an affluent Gujrati family. Though she comes from a conservative family, she wants to be part of the ‘cool’ gang and is ready to go to any extent for that. Yuvraj (played by newcomer Sehban Azim) is a straight talker and serious worker and is all set to become Dr Shasank’s favourite. The fifth ‘new’entrant in the show is Jitendra Prasad (played by Prasad Barve), a city topper from UP who thinks he is the hero of the place. In reality, however, people make fun of him. He adds the much-needed comic relief to the show. Whether the new characters will be able to retain viewer interest and freshness that has been the hallmark of the serial is something the next few weeks will tell us.
Dill Mill Gaye can be watched on Star One from Monday to Friday at 8 pm.
Doctors and their lives always make good stories to watch. Irrespective of whether it is a film or a television serial, stories revolving around the noble medical profession have always hit bull’s eye. 
