Unpaused is an Indian Hindi-language anthology film consisting of five short segments directed by Raj & DK, Nitya Mehra, Nikkhil Advani, Tannishtha Chatterjee and Avinash Arun.[1] With an ensemble cast, the stories revolved around lives of people impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] It premiered on 18 December 2020 on Amazon Prime Video.[3]
| Unpaused | |
|---|---|
 Release poster | |
| Directed by | Tannishtha Chatterjee Raj & DK Nitya Mehra Nikkhil Advani Avinash Arun |
| Written by | Raj & DK Devika Bhagat Nitya Mehra Reshu Nath Vidur Nauriyal Shubham Sanyuktha Chawla Shaikh |
| Produced by | Raj & DK Madhu Bhojwani Monisha Advani Baisakhi Nair Sanjeevkumar Nair |
| Starring | Gulshan Devaiah Sumeet Vyas Saiyami Kher Richa Chadda Abhishek Banerjee Ratna Pathak Shah Ishwak Singh Geetika Vidya Ohlyan Rinku Rajguru Lillete Dubey |
| Cinematography | Pankaj Kumar Jay Pinak Oza John Jacob Payyapalli Navagat Prakash Kaushal Shah |
| Edited by | Sanyukta Kaza Sachin Kunal Sagar Manik Sumeet Kotian Dharmendra Kakarala Antara Lahiri Manas Mittal |
| Music by | Tanishk Bagchi Payal Dev Parth Parekh Shishir A Samant Gaurav Kadu |
| Distributed by | Amazon Prime Video |
Release date |
|
Running time | 113 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
Cast
editGlitch (Raj & DK)
- Gulshan Devaiah as Ahan Awasthi
- Saiyami Kher as Ayesha Hussain
Apartment (Nikkhil Advani)
- Richa Chadda as Devika Khanna
- Ishwak Singh as Chirag
- Sumeet Vyas as Sahil Khanna
Rat A Tat (Tannishtha Chatterjee)
- Rinku Rajguru as Priyanka
- Lillete Dubey as Archna
Vishaanu (Avinash Arun)
- Abhishek Banerjee as Manish
- Geetika Vidya Ohlyan as Seema
Chaand Mubarak (Nitya Mehra)
- Ratna Pathak Shah as Uma
- Shardul Bharadwaj as Rafique (Auto Driver)[4]
Critical reception
editDebasree Purkayastha of The Hindu mentioned that the film has "a stirring ensemble of slice-of-life tales that dwell on the common themes of loneliness, love and hope."[5] Saibal Chatterjee from NDTV wrote: "As a freewheeling rumination on loneliness, distress and lingering hope, the anthology, buoyed by a slew of terrific performances, is a pertinent commentary on a pandemic and its depredations."[6]
Nandini Ramnath of Scroll.in praised the performances in the film but was critical of the treatment.[7] Writing for The Indian Express, Shubhra Gupta noted that the film mixes different themes like loneliness and isolation "with news that has made headlines in this terrible virus-laden year, with average results."[8] Anna M. M. Vetticad wrote: "Unpaused is important because it serves to chronicle this slice of history. It helps that it is also an enjoyable, insightful affair."[9]
Soundtrack
edit| Unpaused | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Tanishk Bagchi, Payal Dev, Parth Parekh, Shishir A Samant and Gaurav Kadu | |||||
| Released | 11 December 2020[10] | ||||
| Recorded | 2020 | ||||
| Genre | Amazon Original Movie Soundtrack | ||||
| Length | 19:42 | ||||
| Language | Hindi | ||||
| Label | Amazon Music | ||||
| |||||
The music was composed by Tanishk Bagchi, Payal Dev, Parth Parekh, Shishir A Samant and Gaurav Kadu with lyrics written by Rashmi Virag, Kunaal Vermaa, Ginny Diwan, Traditional and Gaurav Kadu.
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Nayi Dhoop" | Rashmi Virag | Tanishk Bagchi | Zara Khan | 3:21 |
| 2. | "Ummeed Hai" | Kunaal Vermaa | Payal Dev | Jubin Nautiyal | 2:42 |
| 3. | "Badarva" | Ginny Diwan | Parth Parekh | Madhubanti Bagchi | 1:57 |
| 4. | "Chaap Tilak" | Traditional (Amir Khusrau) | Shishir A Samant | Shishir A Samant, Sunil Kamath | 3:10 |
| 5. | "Nayi Dhoop" (Reprise) | Rashmi Virag | Tanishk Bagchi | Zara Khan | 3:19 |
| 6. | "Mujh Mai Hai Tu" | Gaurav Kadu | Gaurav Kadu | Fiddlecraft, Gaurav Kadu | 3:15 |
| 7. | "Rastey" | Gaurav Kadu | Gaurav Kadu | Fiddlecraft, Gaurav Kadu | 1:58 |
| Total length: | 19:42 | ||||
References
edit- ^ "WATCH: 'Unpaused' trailer: Friendship, hope in Amazon's anthology". The New Indian Express. 9 December 2020. Archived from the original on 18 December 2020. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
- ^ Jhunjhunwala, Udita (20 December 2020). "Unpaused on Amazon Prime: Actors, creators of the anthology discuss using the 'lens of hope' in telling their stories". Firstpost. Archived from the original on 20 December 2020. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
- ^ "'Unpaused' Critics' Review: Anthology Finds Hope in a Pandemic". The Quint. 19 December 2020. Archived from the original on 30 May 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
- ^ "An anthology film, Unpaused, relives the pandemic". Archived from the original on 14 July 2023. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
- ^ Purkayastha, Debasree (19 December 2020). "'Unpaused' review: Fighting the pandemic, one feel-good story at a time". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 19 December 2020. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
- ^ Chatterjee, Saibal (18 December 2020). "Unpaused Review: Anthology Of Lockdown Stories Is Highly Recommended". NDTV. Archived from the original on 19 December 2020. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
- ^ Ramnath, Nandini (18 December 2020). "'Unpaused' review: Amazon Prime Video anthology film finds the rainbow in the Covid-19 storm". Scroll.in. Archived from the original on 19 December 2020. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
- ^ Gupta, Shubhra (19 December 2020). "Unpaused review: A middling anthology". Archived from the original on 18 December 2020. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
- ^ MM Vetticad, Anna (18 December 2020). "Unpaused movie review: Young and old, poor migrants and the lonely rich share space in a pleasant pandemic anthology". Firstpost. Archived from the original on 18 December 2020. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
- ^ "Unpaused (Music from the Prime Original Series)". Amazon Music. 18 December 2020. Archived from the original on 11 December 2020. Retrieved 20 December 2020.