Doctor says Chiranjeevi’s iconic scene in Tagore damaged doctors’ reputation: ‘A huge disservice to the medical field’ FilmyMeet

It has been over two decades since VV Vinayak’s Chiranjeevi-starrer Tagore was released in theatres. But Dr Guruva Reddy, CEO of KIMS-Sunshine in Hyderabad, says the 2003 film still haunts the medical community. On the Raw Talks with VK podcast, Dr Guruva was critical of the damage this iconic scene from the film has created. (Also Read: Chiranjeevi recalls feeling insulted on seeing south actors sidelined at event: ‘Only north Indian actors…’)

‘It’s one of the worst scenes’

Dr Guruva agrees that while corrupt medical professionals might have contributed to the scene’s inception, he disagrees that anyone in the field is as wrong as what was shown in the film. “Chiranjeevi is my friend, we’ve shared meals. I told him he had done a big disservice to doctors and the medical field with Tagore. There are malpractices in the medical field, but no one is as bad as the one shown. It’s one of the worst scenes created by a director.”

The doctor also said the scene damaged their reputation because patients still mistrust hospitals. “I have termed it the Tagore syndrome when a patient is mistrustful. No doctor in the world has faced this, but we have due to a movie. Every day as a doctor is such a struggle, we leave our families to serve people. Vinayak should spend a day with us; he’ll be depressed about learning the truth.”

Dr Guruva also said that trust is fundamental to ‘any relationship’, and unfortunately, due to Tagore, patients think he’s ‘scamming’ them when he orders MRI scans or asks them to be admitted to the ICU.

The famous Tagore scene

Chiranjeevi plays the titular Tagore in the film—a professor who moonlights as a vigilante to expose corruption. In one of the film’s most memorable scenes, Tagore brings a dead body to the hospital and seeks ‘treatment’. The doctors and medical staff there decide to pretend to try to revive the body, charging the family lakhs for it. The scene ends with the hospital’s corrupt practices being exposed.

Tagore is a remake of AR Murugadoss’ 2002 Tamil film Ramanaa, which has a similar scene exposing corruption in hospitals. Vijayakanth played the titular character in the film.