From the Unmarried Nurse in October to Dr Annu in Virus - 5 Fictional Characters Who Will Make You Appreciate More the Real-Life Medical Professionals Working During Coronavirus Pandemic

"Is this how you treat a man who's going to die", asks  Soubin Shahir's Unnikrishnan to Parvathy's Dr Annu in a crucial scene in Aashiq Abu's medical thriller Virus. Recently while rewatching this superbly written film, I happened to realize how medical practitioners have to maintain a tough exterior, remain focussed and often even take on different roles to manage a situation at its best. From friendly to no-nonsense and straight-faced to almost zen-like beings, I bet you have engaged with a fair share of medical staff be it the doctors, nurses or other health professionals with varied personalities. Hospitals are the strangest places to make friendships yet you'll be surprised how often you'll find a nurse connecting with a patient, so much so that they may even exchange their most personal and deepest thoughts with one another. TBBT's Sheldon Cooper to Friends' Monica Geller - 5 Fictional Cleanliness Freaks Who Should Be Your Inspiration During COVID-19 Outbreak.

Currently, as we are faced with the coronavirus pandemic, it has been delightful to see people all across the globe being appreciative and thankful towards the medical staff who have been working tirelessly amid this crisis. They are being pushed beyond their limits and are risking their lives having to work with limited protective materials for themselves. Many are pulling double and triple shifts and probably haven't even had the time to check on their families.  Claps may not be enough to commend their work but gratitude in any and every form must be expressed for their service. While there's a chance that when we get to the other side of this,  we are going to watch several great stories of medical practitioners through documentaries and films about saving lives during the coronavirus, but I happened to realise, there are so many representations of their work in existent films and series that we need to acknowledge and appreciate as well. These characters in films and TV series may not have fought a medical war but their dutiful work or handling of a situation with great skill has saved lives and bettered lives.

The Unmarried Nurse In October

In Shoojit Sircar's October, Varun Dhawan's  Dan finds himself in an unlikely bond with his colleague Shiuli who lands up in a comatose state after falling off the ledge of a terrace in a freak accident. As Dan starts to frequent at the hospital to see Shiuli, he strikes a friendship with the nurse attending to Shiuli.  During one of their conversations, Dan (Varun) asks her how long has she been doing this job to which she responds saying 20 years. He further inquires if she's married to which she responds, "No one likes to marry a nurse. We're cursed. We nurse patients, touch them, here and there. Makes people question our morals." Of course, this is quite a cultural phenomenon and probably prevalent more in societies like that of India. It's ironic how someone would question the morals of a person, whose job is built on the concept of empathy and humanity.

The Investigative Doctor In Virus

As I stated in the beginning, Parvathy Thiruvothu's character gets asked by a patient diagnosed with Nipah virus, "Is this how you treat a man who's going to die." This question is also followed by "Are you even a doctor?" dialogue because at that moment she comes across as a detective more than a doctor. Think about it for a minute and you'll realise that one of the core traits for a doctor is also having a curious mind that is followed by a thorough investigation. Isn't that how medical conditions get discovered, diagnosed and eventually rectified. In Virus, we see Paravathy's Annu deciphering the epidemiological links connecting those affected.  While we can't thank Virus enough for dramatising and showcasing all the hard work that Dr Seethu Ponnu Thampi (Dr Annu's character was inspired from her) put in during the Nipah virus outbreak in Kozhikode. Let's also give a shout out to many others making small notes and advancing medical developments with their curious minds and investigative intelligence.

The Doctor With a Strategy to Deliver the 'Tragic News' In Waiting

One thing you may have noticed in your interactions with doctors is that however friendly they may get over the years when it comes to their medical advice, they remain plain-spoken. There's little or rather no sugarcoating done when you're expected to take the hardest decisions, that's the kind of tenacity they possess. In Waiting, there's a beautiful scene between, Rajat Kapoor's Dr Nirupam Malhotra and a junior doctor who gets trained by his senior on how to deliver the "bad news". He demonstrates on how one's body language should be and how crucial it is to gain trust but not give hope to the patient's family by a simple touch lasting not more than two seconds.  Dr Nirupam's funda is "There's no room for doubt here. We're trying to save lives here and if a little bit of faking helps you do your job better just do it." We truly do underestimate this quality, don't we?

The Doctor Who Becomes the Teacher In Ventilator

While Ventilator may have been a chaotic film that tried to make the most of its plot by being a tear-jerker as well as a piece with situational comedy. Despite its far fetched idea that an entire family of at least 20 people turns up at the hospital to see a patient who's fighting for his life on a Ventilator, one of its defining scenes is when the doctor becomes a biology teacher for this bunch whilst trying to explain them his patient's condition. Yes, it's supposed to bring comic relief when he asks the family to show where their vital organs are in the body such as the heart, kidneys and liver yet, there's one thing it'll leave you thinking. Imagine the amount of patience and understanding the medical staff requires in such situations. They have to deal with all kinds of people and know exactly how they must deal with a situation and remain non-judgemental about it. So your patient doesn't know where the heart is, but how efficiently can you communicate to him not only its location but also what ails it is a tough job and yet they make it look so easy. Appreciate it, the next time your doctor goes out to the way to give you those analogies to explain what your condition is because that's a skill too.

The Doctor Who Never Lets Her Emotions Get a Hold Of Her In Delhi Crime

As readers, people seem to get desensitised towards most crimes and if you happen to look at the rampantly increasing record of crimes against women particularly rapes in India, you'll realise it's almost a sense of helplessness that has left everyone numb towards it. While many find a way to shut their eyes towards this grave reality, what happens to people who can't? In this case, in reference to the medical staff. While a cop may find satisfaction in nabbing the culprits, it's a much harder road for the doctors and medical staff to keep their calm, not let emotions and empathy get in the way of them doing their job even when the heinous crimes are beyond barbarism. In Netflix's Delhi Crime, we get a fleeting glimpse of that. When DCP Vartika (Shefali Shah) gets a hold of the doctor who is to operate on the recently admitted gangrape victim, the doctor without batting an eyelid or even making a small twitch on her face says, "Put simply, her intestines seem to be hanging out of her vagina and rectum." While the DCP looks disgusted, angered and shocked all at once, the Doctor merely responds with an "I know my job ma'am" when asked about retaining any kind of evidence, (semen samples) they can get. With the patient's survival being the only thing on their mind even in such circumstances, it truly makes you realise the gravity of the kind of work pressures they face and how little is talked about. Quarantine Binge: Star Wars, The Godfather, Indiana Jones - 7 Franchise Movie Marathons You Can Stream While You Sit Indoors Amid Coronavirus Outbreak.

Even as we would crave to see more such honest portrayals, we are more often than not served with Kabir Singhs as doctors and friendly, charming nurses who're expected to be flirty with their patients in films and pop culture. With every country at this point battling with coronavirus doing various things to show their gratitude to the medical staff, maybe its time we also become more responsible and sensitive towards their portrayals.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 31, 2020 11:41 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).