Unpaused
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 and met with mostly positive reviews from critics.[3]
| Unpaused | |
|---|---|
 Release poster | |
| Directed by | Raj & DK Nitya Mehra Nikkhil Advani Tannishtha Chatterjee Avinash Arun |
| Produced by | Raj & DK Madhu Bhojwani Monisha Advani Baisakhi Nair Sanjeevkumar Nair |
| Written by | Devika Bhagat Nitya Mehra Reshu Nath Vidur Nauriyal Sanyuktha Chawla Shaikh |
| Starring | Gulshan Devaiah Sumeet Vyas Saiyami Kher Richa Chadda Abhishek Banerjee Ratna Pathak Shah Ishwak Singh Geetika Vidya Ohlyan Rinku Rajguru |
| Music by | Tanishk Bagchi Payal Dev Parth Parekh Shishir A Samant Gaurav Kadu |
| Cinematography | Pankaj Kumar Jay Oza John Jacob Payyapalli Navagat Prakash Kaushal Shah |
| Edited by | Sanyukta Kaza Sachin Kunal Sagar Manik Sumeet Kotian Antara Lahiri Manas Mittal |
| Distributed by | Amazon Prime Video |
Release date |
|
Running time | 113 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
Cast
- Gulshan Devaiah as Ahan Awasthi
- Sumeet Vyas as Sahil Khanna
- Saiyami Kher as Ayesha Hussain
- Richa Chadda as Devika Khanna
- Abhishek Banerjee as Manish
- Ratna Pathak Shah as Uma
- Ishwak Singh as Chirag
- Rinku Rajguru as Priyanka
- Geetika Vidya Ohlyan as Seema
- Lillete Dubey as Archna
- Shardul Bharadwaj as Rafique Auto Driver
Critical reception
Debasree 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."[4] 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."[5]
Nandini Ramnath of Scroll.in praised the performances in the film but was critical of the treatment.[6] 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."[7] 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."[8]
Anupama Chopra, Editor-in-Chief of Film Companion, wrote, "The result is an uneven collection of shorts. [9]
Soundtrack
| 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 | 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
- "WATCH: 'Unpaused' trailer: Friendship, hope in Amazon's anthology". The New Indian Express. 9 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. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
- "'Unpaused' Critics' Review: Anthology Finds Hope in a Pandemic". The Quint. 19 December 2020. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
- Purkayastha, Debasree (19 December 2020). "'Unpaused' review: Fighting the pandemic, one feel-good story at a time". The Hindu. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
- Chatterjee, Saibal (18 December 2020). "Unpaused Review: Anthology Of Lockdown Stories Is Highly Recommended". NDTV. 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. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
- Gupta, Shubhra (19 December 2020). "Unpaused review: A middling anthology". 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. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
- Chopra, Anupama (18 December 2020). "Unpaused Movie Review". Film Companion. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
- "Unpaused (Music from the Prime Original Series)". Amazon Music. 18 December 2020.