A mixed bag of tales in the background of the pandemic and how those caught in the crossfire deal with it, makes Unpaused: Naya Safar a worthwhile watch

Nonika Singh

Covid-19 has impacted, nay turned our lives upside down like nothing before. Perhaps, every other household entails a story worth telling within its folds. If Unpaused’s approach was to bring us a slice of human and humane stories, its second season Unpaused: Naya Safar, yet another anthology, comprising five shorts, treads the same ground. Like the first season, it records human stories which could be yours, mine and theirs amidst gloomy times.

Unpaused: Naya Safar

Cast: Geetanjali Kulkarni, Shreya Dhanwanthary, Priyanshu Painyuli, Saqib Saleem, Ashish Verma, Sam Mohan, Darshana Rajendran, Lakshvir Singh, Neena Kulkarni, Nagraj Manjule

Directors: Nupur Asthana, Ayappa KM, Ruchir Arun, Shikha Makan and Nagraj Manjule

Rating: ***

Bitter-sweet tales of the pandemic and how those caught in the crossfire deal with it forms the crux of the Unpaused: Naya Safar. The very first short, The Couple, starring Shreya Dhanwanthary and Priyanshu Painyuli and directed by Nupur Astahna, focuses on a husband and wife and how the relationship goes for a toss when the ripple effect of the pandemic makes her jobless. A rather sweet tale of love and how husband-wife equation goes askew, and finds its balance, brings a smile to your face.

Come to think of it, all stories ultimately make you smile. Gond Ke Laddu, easily the most sugar-syrupy of all, tastes sweet like the flavour of laddoos. A courier delivery boy’s life gets intertwined with that of a loving mother, etched remarkably well by seasoned actor Neena Kulkarni, who has couriered a box of laddoos for her daughter.

Love makes the world go round and human bonding can birth in the most unlikely circumstances, even amongst bickering men, is at the core of Teen Tigada. Starring Saqib Saleem, Ashish Verma and Sam Mohan as small-time criminals waiting for their cut in a van full of material worth Rs 60 lakh they have looted, Ruchir Arun’s directorial lends flesh and blood to their predicament. The three men may not represent the entire macro of displacement but in the microcosm of their life, we see a sea of emotions, challenges and finally little joys. Can compassion survive in the face of bitterness and grief? The question raises its head in War Room directed by Ayappa KM. Set in a Covid war room, this is a fine short where we meet a widow Sangeeta (Geetanjali Kulkarni), oscillating between a gamut of emotions. As a call during her duty hours brings her face-to-face with her personal grief, her face becomes a mirror to the conflicts of her mind. Can she exact the price of loss of her son and deny the man who brought tragedy to her door, the chance at life? The dilemma is not easy to decode, only the climax reminds you that empathy has many faces.

Vaikunth, undeniably the best of the lot despite its hard-hitting tenor, is in sync with the basic thematic leitmotif. While the opening short may have a relatable touch, Vaikunth takes us to a world and to the life of man we perhaps don’t even stop for a moment to care about. Set in a cremation ground, we meet Vikas Chavan who cremates strangers’ day in and out. Nagraj Manjule paints the true horror of the pandemic through haunting visuals and economy of words. As we watch the near and dear maintain dispassionate distance from the dead bodies of their loved ones, stories that we may have read in the newspapers come alive with an eerie underscoring of the times we have been witnessing. Vaikunth, however, is no newspaper story, rather it is a cinematic treatise. The title Vaikunth itself points to the contrary, the living hell of a certain class of marginalised men. The pre-call Covid messages playing on our phones and in this case Vikas’ phone reminds us of the hollowness of such cautionary reminders about the danger of the epidemic. What possibly could these mean to the people on ground zero battling the onslaught on daily basis, watching the dance of death, up close, if not personal. Nagraj Manjule as Vikas Chavan directs himself and the entire short with a deftness serving us a dismal truth while simultaneously leaving a window of hope.

The concluding scene in the final short sums up the essence of Naya Safar; out of ashes is born the seed of a new tomorrow. Behind every dark cloud there is a silver lining; Naya Safar makes us see the light at the end of the tunnel. Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, this synergy of different directors and consummate actors is worth your time.