Amazon Prime Video’s new offering Unpaused is an anthology of five short films shot during the Covid-19 pandemic. Nitya Mehra, through her film Chaand Mubarak, wants to give the message of learning to trust people.
Starring Ratna Pathak Shah and Shardul Bharadwaj, Chaand Mubarak is the story of an affluent middle-aged single woman who forms an unlikely friendship with a young rickshaw driver, whom she is forced to seek help from during the lockdown. As they slowly overcome their preconceived notions about each other, they realise that they are not so different after all – both lonely in the big city of dreams.
Nitya said that she never knows if her content will resonate with the audience. “If it does, I am hoping that they get to see a little glimpse of an unlikely friendship. If two unlikely people come together, there is a certain amount of judgment involved. If you make a little bit of room for conversation, you will understand so much more about who the other person is and you will realise that there always will be common ground.”
If the audience were to take anything away from Chaand Mubarak, it would be to learn to trust again. “I think the world was getting into a different kind of polarisation that I have not seen before. There is a great divide between people living in ivory towers and those who are not. Societal structures created that divide and it has only increased in these times. Covid-19 is also a mind game, so to speak. It has created such havoc that trusting one another is going to be a whole new thing. When you look at someone wearing a mask and they sneeze, it is like, ‘Oh my God, does that person have Covid-19? Is he going to give it to me?’ I think I was trying to merge Covid-19 and the societal structures that existed pre-Covid-19, and say, ‘Listen, go out there and get to know the person you are talking to before you choose not to trust them,’” she said.
Shardul said, “It’s about people like you and I, and it is relatable in terms of the situation that these people find themselves in and the preconceived sentiments they hold against each other.”
He also talked about the ‘wonderful’ experience of shooting with Ratna. “She is not just seasoned, a lot of people are seasoned. She just knows in a scene where to push me a bit and where not to. As a young actor, you feel at ease that there is someone working with you in the scene who will take care of you,” he said.
Before signing off, Nitya gave an update about the much awaited second season of Made In Heaven, which she has co-directed. “We are starting shoot early next year. We are excited to get back on set because it has been a while. I have no idea about release dates, so don’t ask me about that, but I know that we will begin our work early next year,” she said.
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