"sab kuch mumkin hai, agar tujhmein ummeed hai" - this is what the anthology starts with. So these are stories of hope during covid-19 which has been the most hopeless period for everyone the world over.
Here's my view about the films within Unpaused:
1) Glitch - Three names: Raj & Dk (Family Man), SuperGullu (everything he's into), and Saiyami Kher (Choked) made me go through the bakwas that this story is. RajDk make a 'slightly futuristic' film with the future in the film being let's say 2 years away from this year (2021). Supergullu is not so super in his selection of this film, even though he is known to be "moody" in his selection. Saiyami Kher - you can't ignore her coloured eyes; about everything else, ignore. Overall, this film takes COVID-19 out of context and is probably someone's dream/nightmare. Maybe, that's why the use of so much colour. GLITCH: yeah, the one scene with Gulshan D in CU almost shedding a tear is the only moment where there is something of that Gulshan-Devaiah-we-know seen. 2.5 stars.
2)The Apartment - the anthology says: set and filmed in the Covid-19 lockdown. This is the only film that is irrelevant to the above claim. The makers probably wanted to make something during #MeToo, missed it, and then combined that story idea with the SSR matter - what with the dupatta and all, added a few masks, added "zoom" calls, and called it "during covid times". Blah. Acting good. Film bad.
3) Rat-a-tat - Lillete Dubey shines. So does Rinku Rajguru. Lillete as an old Bombay bungalow owner (everyone owes her everything kind), who'd come to Bombay as a newcomer once, who still has an ego larger than her need and Rinku Rajguru as a new newcomer to Mumbai who also has an ego larger than her need. Then, Lillete bakes a cake and tells Rinku: "mere jaisi mat ban jana". Beautiful short story, completely believably relevant during covid times, which makes a statement about the way we all reflected within ourselves during these times. Full marks to Tannishtha Chatterjee. She delivers. And her job must have been made easy with Lillete and Rinku.
4) Vishanu - Chronicling possible actual events, this is the best of the stories in Unpaused. Abhishek Banerjee and Geetika Vidya Ohlyan are marvellous. These were the stories which never made the news, but made the deepest impact on people during these Covid-19 times. And you truly feel the "ummeed" that so many people are alive on in these times of Covid-19. Truly truly wonderful short. The cinematography and direction needs special mention - visual motifs like a twisted empty road, muted dull colours, darkness, closed shutters, cloudy grey skies which open up slightly during "opportune moments", etc indicate that the director gave it a lot of thought. Superbly made.
5) Chand Mubarak - very relevant story during these times, but again an attempt to add "communal harmony". Didn't need it. Shouldn't the filmmaker not add anything that is unnecessary? In fact, without the communal angle, it would have worked better. Shardul Bharadwaj and Ratna Pathak Shah are both amazing as their characters. The last scene is so well done that it feels as if it's really a moment between a Bombay Rickshaw-wala (and not from anywhere else truthfully) and a citizen of Bombay - and that moment is the depiction of the sentiment that people in this world have discovered within themselves during these covid-19 times.
ONLY for the last three stories, this film deserves a 7
Let's ignore the first two stories.
