The lockdown changed everything, even storytelling in Indian films. The outcome? ‘Unpaused’, which stemmed more from the need for an outlet for creative expression, that was all pent up during such trying times.
“The union of such creative forces during these unprecedented times is testament to the fact that creativity cannot be capped,” said Aparna Purohit, Head of India Originals, Amazon Prime Video. “This was the time when all our creative forces came together to come up with such great work,” she added.
‘Unpaused’ is an anthology of five Hindi short films, made during the pandemic, featuring stories about new beginnings. The films are ‘The Apartment’, directed by Nikkhil Advani and starring Richa Chadha, Sumeet Vyas, Ishwak Singh; ‘Rat-A-Tat’ featuring Rinku Rajguru and Lillete Dubey is directed by Tannishtha Chatterjee; ‘Chaand Mubarak’ directed by Nitya Mehra starring Ratna Pathak Shah and Shardul Bhardwaj; ‘Sample House’ directed by Avinash Arun starring Abhishek Banerjee and Geetika Vidya Ohlyan, and ‘Glitch’ directed by Raj & DK starring Gulshan Deviah and Saiyami Kher.
“The pandemic made us reinvent and look at ourselves in a new light. For most of the time we were just waiting for some good news. But that wait took so much out of us. So yes this project is totally about the pandemic,” said Lillete Dubey.
Senior citizens, albeit unwillingly, have been at the receiving end of the pandemic with more and more of them being forced to stay indoors. This loneliness felt by senior citizens has also been brought out beautifully in the films.
“We went far down the roads of ingenuity and resourcefulness to come up with an exciting visual experience like ‘The Apartment’,” said director Nikkhil Advani. “With the cast and crew working towards a common goal, and having to think outside the box to bring this creation to life, this production experience has been a novelty. The intent is to showcase the optimism and we are happy to be able to take this story to a global audience,” he added.
