When the COVID19 lockdown began, people were wondering what this would mean for film content- if we would now be exposed to a slew of films about the lockdown and the virus and the human aftermath. Some were concerned that having lived through it, now we would also have to live through an artist's take on it. What could be said about it that hasn't been said?
It seems that Corona is now a genre- films conceived and shot during the Lockdown which has is now easing slowly. Cashing in on this is another anthology from Amazon Prime, Unpaused. It brings together five directors– Nikkhil Advani, Raj & DK, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Nitya Mehra, and Avinash Arun- all of whose shorts are about and set in the times of COVID19. The trailer starts off with tense music that then gives way to feel-good chimes.
There is a Parasite like story of migrants taking over a high rise apartment while its owners are not there (Abhishek Banerjee, Geetika Vidya Ohlyan, Palash Prajapati, directed by Avinash Arun), a tale of dating in times of paranoia (Gulshan Devaiah, Saiyami Kher, Komal Chhabria, directed by Raj & DK), a story of reconciled loneliness in old age (Ratna Pathak Shah, Shardul Bhardwaj, directed by Nitya Mehra), a story of sexual misconduct allegations (Richa Chadha, Ishwak Singh, Sumeet Vyas directed by Nikkhil Advani) and one of a rat in house bringing its owner and the rat-catcher in close contact (Lillete Dubey, Rinku Rajguru directed by Tannishtha Chatterjee). The stories seem varied- bringing in experiences from different economic classes, but all tethered to the urban landscape.
Produced by Emmay Entertainment, Pritish Nandy Com. Ltd., Pink Window Productions, Reverie Entertainment, and D2R Films, the anthology premieres on Amazon Prime on December 18.