Unpaused in an anthology series comprising of five stories by five directors – Raj & DK’s Glitch (Gulshan Devaiah, Saiyami Kher), The Apartment (Richa Chadha, Sumeet Vyas, Ishwak Singh) directed by Nikkhil Advani and writer Samyukta Chawla, Rat-a-Tat (Lillette Dubey and Rinku Rajguru) directed by Tannishtha Chatterjee and written by Devika Bhagat, Avinash Arun Dhaware’s Vishanoo (Abhishek Bannerjee, Geetika Vidya Ohlyan) which has been written by Shubham, and Nitya Mehra’s Chand Mubarak (Ratna Pathak Shah, Shardul Bhardwaj).
Unpaused is set against a backdrop of a new normal
It’s been almost a year since masks have become a part of our bodies. Thematically, Unpaused is faithful to this but explores small moments of emotional importance between people. All the stories are bound by compassion during a tough time. On a whole, the anthology series showcases our strong instincts to reach out to another person and make real connections – all in the new normal.
A feel-good film we didn’t even know we needed
All the stories are obviously different in terms of tone and even frames and colors. The film brings to us real horrors caused by the pandemic and it is disheartening that in real life, those horrors may not have ended in hope. However, Unpaused adds a dash of the rainbow to these situations in its own way.
It takes real craft and some strong writing to retain the moving, feel-good elements of a narrative without the melodrama and cringe. The characters are straight out of our urban lives and as their conversations. Their unique stories convey messages of hope, love, courage, and new beginnings. The film has a stellar star cast and all the members are perfect in their roles.
WATCH OR NOT
Oh definitely yes. Unpaused may not have any big stars or a thrilling plotline but it is beyond all that. Five brilliant directors and numerous talented actors who deliver tight performances, have brought us a celebration of realistic and feel-good human moments. How can anyone miss this?
