'Unpaused': Shot during the Unlock phase, 5 directors bring short-stories of hope & love

Amazon Prime Video has brought together filmmakers such as director duo Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK, Nikkhil Advani, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Avinash Arun, and Nitya Mehra for its original anthology Unpaused, and the trailer released on Tuesday.

Unpaused features five short films revolving around the themes of hope, second chances and new beginnings. The films were shot in compliance with government rules and regulations issued in Maharashtra, for filming during the Unlock phase. The country went into a complete lockdown in March due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Raj and DK, best known for Amazon series helm the short Glitch, which features actors Gulshan Devaiah and Saiyami Kher. Director Advani has teamed up with Richa Chadha, Sumeet Vyas and Ishwak Singh for the short "Apartment". Chatterjee has directed the short Rat – A – Tat, featuring Rinku Rajguru and veteran stage-film actor Lillete Dubey. Chaand Mubarak, helmed by Mehra, features veteran actor Ratna Pathak Shah and actor Shardul Bhardwaj. Arun, who shot and co-directed Paatal Lok, has helmed Vishaanu.

5 DIRECTORS, 5 STORIES, 1 FILM... Five directors - Raj & DK, Nikkhil Advani, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Nitya Mehra and Avinash Arun - team up... Create an anthology of five short stories in #Hindi... Titled #Unpaused... Premieres 18 Dec 2020 on #Amazon. pic.twitter.com/nUmiOuOb62

— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) December 8, 2020

The short reunites the director with actor Abhishek Banerjee, who starred as the dreaded criminal Hathoda Tyagi in Paatal Lok, and Geetika Vidya, best known for crime drama Soni. Aparna Purohit, Head of India Originals, Amazon Prime Video, said the union of such creative forces is a testament that art will always find expression, "even in the most challenging times".

"These stories are a reminder that there is hope at the end of a dark tunnel and chance for us to embark on new beginnings. We are delighted to offer a fresh format with ''Unpaused'' to our customers," Purohit said in a statement.

Unpaused is slated to be released on December 18.

'Unpaused' trailer has star-cast of Sumeet Vyas, Richa Chadha, Ratna Patak Shah and more

Netizens react

y'all the trailer for unpaused looks so good, Amazon really burning Netflix to hell with the quality of their originals #UnpausedOnPrime

— n o o s h k i e (@nooshkapoor) December 8, 2020

Problem chahe jo bhi ho choice humari hai; humane problem ka sath dena hai ya solution ka.#UnpausedOnPrime #unpaused

— Gaurav Sawant (@thegauravsawant) December 8, 2020

Unpaused trailer, Of life during lockdown and new beginnings.

— M.KrishnaPrasadReddy (@krishna73700227) December 8, 2020

(With PTI inputs)