Unpaused: Naya Safar trailer – Gives birth to new hope in the shadow of a pandemic

With a pandemic extended by force, the timing for Amazon Prime Video's next anthology, Unpaused: Naya Safar (2022), seems appropriate.

A sequel to Unpaused (2020), the new anthology looks more optimistic despite capturing the darkness and struggles of the pandemic.

Featuring five short films by directors Nagraj Manjule, Ayyappa KM, Shikha Makan, Nupur Asthana and Ruchir Arun, the anthology will be streamed on Prime Video from 21 January.

The trailer captures the story of the pandemic from different perspectives. Geetanjali Kulkarni plays a hospital emergency assistant trying to keep her sanity as the world around explodes. Shreya Dhanwanthary and Priyanshu Painyuli play a young couple facing job loss and its added strain on their relationship. Neena Kulkarni takes on the role of a lovable grandmother trying to send something home for her little grandchildren.

The darker part of the film is taken over by Manjule's Vaikunth, which tells the story of a cremation ground worker (Arjun Karche) as he tries to walk the thin line between life and death through the pandemic. Saqib Saleem and Ashish Verma are workers trapped in an inescapable situation during the pandemic. Their journey back home and attempts to find ways to survive makes for a touching story.

The trailer cuts between the darker and lighter emotional arcs of the stories to offer an interesting glimpse into the anthology. The visual cues and the tension in the trailer hold out the promise of an intense film. With Manjule, Asthana, Makan, Ayyappa and Ruchir Arun at the helm, the anthology presents multiple facets of the human condition through the past couple of years.

Unpaused: Naya Safar will be released on Amazon Prime Video on 21 January. Watch the trailer below and let us know if you are keen to watch this film.