The pandemic is here to stay, and while everyone seems to be making adjustments to their lives to live with it, filmmakers have been producing content that’s unique. Instead of love stories and action-oriented narratives, the audience is getting to watch some thought-provoking and insightful content, particularly on OTT platforms. Unpaused, an anthology of films made in 2020, inspired by the pandemic, falls in this category. The sequel to it, Unpaused: Naya Safar, is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Tale spin
While the previous anthology looked at the outbreak of the pandemic and its immediate effects, the sequel explores what happens later. A couple whose relationship is under stress because of job loss, an undertaker who wants to be safe at home with his family, a mother who is trying to send sweets to her pregnant daughter, delivery boys who are desperate to make money, and COVID war room workers who have to deal with calls asking for availability of beds are the five stories that are showcased.
One of the stories, The Couple, is by filmmaker Nupur Asthana, who is always remembered as the director of the popular ’90s TV show Hip Hip Hurray. Her film in this anthology features Shreya Dhanwantry and Priyanshu Painyuli as a young working couple in Mumbai. When Shreya’s character loses her job, things start getting ugly for the husband and wife.
“The idea for this came because of what I was reading and observing around me, and the huge impact it had on people. There were so many layoffs. But what was enraging is that more women were being laid off compared to men. I felt there was patriarchy even in this. This was the springboard for this story,” explains Nupur.
When something as devastating as losing a job happens in a young couple’s life, how do they deal with it? The woman’s identity is not just about her being a wife, it is also tied to her job. So, when Akriti, the wife, is laid off, she feels a huge sense of loss. Even though her husband is supportive, how does this impact her relationship with him and how does he deal with her rage and perspective—it’s multiple
layers such as these that Nupur has attempted to explore in her story.
Shreya, who has delivered impactful performances in Scam 1992 and The Family Man, plays the role of Akriti, the anxious young woman who wants to deliver her best both at her workplace and at home as a wife. “I take all my instructions from the script and my director,” she says about prepping for the role.
Real to reel
She adds further, “But there was a quiet annihilation within the lines of the story and if the lines on paper come true in real life, and your director really knows what she is looking for, then it’s a blessing. This is what happened to me. I had to just show up and everything was given to me on a platter,” explains Shreya. Playing her husband Dippy is Priyanshu, who recently was cast as the supportive husband of Taapsee Pannu’s character in Rashmi Rocket. Priyanshu seems to be a dependable actor for such roles.
“In 2020, you saw me as the villain in Extraction and as the cunning Robin in Mirzapur 2, but in 2021, I played the husband’s role. I think with every year, I am trying to experiment with a new personality,” he says in jest. In Unpaused, the actor says, his character is flawed, he makes mistakes but at the same time he is trying to make his partner see the brighter side of life.
“Even though I am trying to be the good husband, it may not really be good considering the situation they are in. It’s a very real story. When Nupur told me women were being laid off more than men, that was news to me,” says Priyanshu. The idea of valuing small things in life, being grateful, giving importance to yourself and to your loved ones are some of the key takeaways from Unpaused, say the cast and director on a concluding note.
Streaming on Amazon Prime Video