Hindi films that revolve around doctors and nurses

Anand (1971)

Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s film depicted the friendship between a doctor and a cancer patient. It starred two superstars - the reigning one, Rajesh Khanna and the one in the making, Amitabh Bachchan. Dr Bhaskar (Bachchan) is a cancer specialist. Anand (Khanna), a man at the terminal stage of cancer, enters his life and both become friends. Anand lights up everyone’s life in the short span that he has, hiding his own pain. He shows that one should live in the moment.

Anuradha (1960)

Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s film is based on a short story written by Sachin Bhowmick. It’s a love triangle between a young woman, who marries an idealistic doctor but later develops feelings for a rich friend. Dr Nirmal Chowdhary (Balraj Sahni), who loses his mother to illness decides to dedicate his life to serving the poor and moves to remote Nandgaon. A rich heiress, Anuradha (Leela Naidu), is smitten by him and wants to marry him, despite him warning her of the hardships she’d face in a remote village. Soon the toil of running a household without any help begins to take its toll. Her husband too cares more for his patients than for marital bliss. Chance gets her close to a rich man Deepak (Abhi Bhattacharya), whose injured girlfriend is operated upon by Nirmal. Anuradha longs to get back to the luxurious life of the city, only to change her mind at the last minute when she learns how high in esteem her husband is held by his peers. The story highlights the fact that doctors serving in remote areas sometimes have to sacrifice their family life for duty.

Dil Ek Mandir (1963)

C.V. Sridhar’s film is a love triangle between a doctor, his lover and the man she eventually marries. It was melodramatic in content but depicted the dedication of a doctor nevertheless. Dr Dharmesh (Rajendra Kumar) only lives to serve his patients. He’s nursing a broken heart because the love of his life Sita (Meena Kumari) has married a rich businessman Ram (Raaj Kumar). Ram suffers from cancer and comes to Dharmesh’s hospital for treatment. Sita isn’t sure Ram is the right doctor for her husband as she fears his feelings might come in the way. To prove to her that his zeal for curing patients is bigger than his feelings for her, he dedicatedly works day and night to find a line of treatment. He successfully operates on Ram but later dies out of exhaustion. Ram and Sita later erect a hospital in his memory.

Dr. Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani (1946)

The film is based on the life of an Indian doctor, Dr Dwarkanath Kotnis, who worked in China during the Japanese invasion in World War II. He gave up his life treating his patients. The idealistic doctor, played by V Shantaram (also directed the film), learns that medical help is required by the Chinese, held under siege by the Japanese. He travels there at the height of the World War II. He meets a Chinese girl there, who becomes his assistant. In due course, they marry. Such is their zeal that on the wedding night itself, they set out to help the wounded. A plague sets in and in order to find a cure, the good doctor self-injects himself with it in order to develop anti-bodies. He’s able to develop a vaccine but later succumbs to the rigours of the profession. His young wife returns to India along with their infant son.

Ek Doctor Ki Maut (1990)

Tapan Sinha’s film based on real-life events, is perhaps Pankaj Kapur’s finest performance. He plays a researcher, who at the cost of his health and family, discovers a vaccine for leprosy. However, jealousy by those in power makes his life hell. His discovery is credited to American scientists. Redemption comes at last when a prominent foreign institute invites him to be on the panel of doctors researching other life-threatening diseases. 

Khamoshi (1970)

This time it’s not a doctor but a nurse, who is at the forefront. The film is based on the Bengali short story, titled Nurse Mitra, by noted Bengali writer, Ashutosh Mukherjee. It’s a remake of director Asit Sen’s own Bengali film, Deep Jwele Jaai (1959), starring Suchitra Sen. It’s a poignant tale of a nurse’s dedication towards curing mental patients and the breakdown she undergoes because of it. Nurse Radha (Waheeda Rahman) cures a patient Dev Kumar (Dharmendra), of his mental instability through her affectionate care. She crosses professional boundaries and falls in love with him. She’s heartbroken when he leaves the hospital. A new patient, Arun Choudury (Rajesh Khanna), suffering from acute mania gets admitted. Radha initially refuses to treat him but later relents. They both share memories from their past and Arun is gradually cured. Convinced that he too will eventually leave her, Radha suffers a mental breakdown. However, Arun promises to wait for her till she’s cured. The film is remembered for Hemant Kumar’s  haunting song Tum pukar lo.