Saiyami Kher

Review : Unpaused – Hindi Anthology film on Amazon Prime

by 123telugu December 22, 2020

Cast : Gulshan Devaiah, Sumeet Vyas, Saiyami Kher, Richa Chadda, Abhishek Banerjee, Ratna Pathak

Directed by : Raj & DK, Nitya Mehra, Nikkhil Advani, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Avinash Arun

Producer : Raj & DK, Madhu Bhojwani, Monisha Advani, Baisakhi Nair, Sanjeevkumar Nai

Cinematography : Pankaj Kumar

So, continuing the series of reviewing movies and shows, our today’s pick is Unpaused, the Hindi anthology film. This film is available on Prime Video and let’s now see how it is.

Story :

This anthology film has five stories directed by Raj & DK, Nitya Mehra, Nikkhil Advani, Tannishtha Chatterjee, and Avinash Arun. Each of the stories is set during the lockdown period and showcases how different individuals with unique personalities acted to the near and dear stuck in Covid times. These stories have actors like Gulshan Devaiah as Ahan Sumeet Vyas, Saiyami Kher, Richa Chadda, Abhishek Banerjee, Ratna Pathak Shah, Ishwak Singh, Rinku Rajguru, Geetika Vidya Ohlyan, Lillete Dubey, and Shardul Bharadwaj in key roles.

What’s Good

The actors do a decent job but the best of the lot was Ratna Pathak Shah and Abhishek Banerjee. Ratna in her role of a lonely lady and how she becomes friends with an auto driver is shown beautifully. Abhishek Banerjee’s story is the best of the lot and shows how a lower class guy with his family lands in a rich house and spends his quarantine there. Rinku Rajguru and her story with Lalitte Dubey is also touching.

Richa Chadha does well in her emotional role as the lady who wants to end her life. All the stories have a good connection to the COVID times and have been designed well except for the first one. The production values are good and so was the BGM. Shardul Bhardwaj as the Muslim auto driver was very good in his serious role and his chemistry with Ratna Shah was amazing.

What’s Bad

One of the biggest drawbacks of the show is the first short directed by Raj and DK. Their short is about a crazy guy reacting to the COVID in a weird manner. This story lacks logic and the only solace was the performance of Sayami Kher which is wasted. The emotions in the first three episodes are not that strong and do not elevate pain.

As the lockdown is done, most of the stories do not create much impact. The effect that is needed to created pain for the main conflict point of COVID is not at all done well. Some of the actors chosen for supporting roles were also not good. The endings of the first two stories look weird.

Verdict :

On the whole, Unpaused is an anthology film that has a backdrop of COVID lockdown but does not impress you much. The needed emotions are missing and stories feel incomplete. Except for Abhishek Banerjee and Ratna Pathak Shah’s short stories, this film has nothing great to offer as the other stories are rushed and fail in execution.

123telugu.com Rating : 2.5/5
Reviewed by 123telugu Team

December 22, 2020

Lockdown Review : Breathe Into The Shadows – Hindi series on Amazon Prime

by 123telugu July 11, 2020

Cast : Abhishek Bachchan, Amit Sadh, Nithya Menen, Ivana Kaur, Saiyami Kher, Hrishikesh Joshi, Shruti Bapna, Resham Shrivardhan

Directed by : Mayank Sharma

Producers : Vikram Malhotra, Nidhi Agarwal, Ajay G Rai, Vijash Kothari

Cinematography by : S. Bharathwaaj

Editing by : Sumeet Kotian

So, continuing the series of reviewing movies and shows during the lockdown period, our today’s pick is the Hindi web series Breathe Into The Shadows which has Abhishek Bachchan in the lead role. The series is available on Amazon Prime video and let’s see how it is.

What’s it about

The series is set in Delhi and is based on the life of a couple, Avinash Sabarwal(Abhishek and Abha Sabarwal(Nithya Menen) who have a six-year-old daughter Siya. Things start getting worse when Siya gets kidnapped all of a sudden. The kidnapper makes a call and demands the couple to start killing a select few in order to set their daughter free. On the other hand, the case is assigned to Kabir Sawant(Amith Sadh) who has his own past. What will Avinash and his wife do now? Will they start killing people to save their daughter? What are the problems they face and who is this kidnapper? To know this you have to watch the entire show.

What’s good?

Abhishek Bachchan makes his entry into the OTT world with a bang. He as the desperate father does extremely well in the show. He has a tailor-made role and surprises you with his act. He does not show himself in a frustrated manner but is clever and shows all his pain through his eyes. Nithya Menen is a proven actoress and she does well in her character of Abha. Nithya’s Hindi diction is spot on and she does superb job supporting Abhisekh in his act. The whole story is based on the couple and their chemistry is spot on.

Each of the episodes has a good twist which has been executed well. Sayami Kher is solid in her key role and brings a lot of depth to the show. Amit Sadh is also amazing as the cop.

The show has a stunning background score which makes the viewing even more engaging. The story looks simple but the twists and turns that are given in the narration are decent. A major twist in the story that is revealed in the middle episodes is shocking.

What’s bad?

Even though the show is gripping until the end, there was absolutely no need to have 12 episodes. Things could have been wrapped up in just nine or ten episodes. Also, once the suspense is known, things get slow in a few scenes. The love story of Amith Sadh is dragged for no reason. The series could have been edited a bit better to make it even tauter.

Final Word

Overall, Breathe Into the Shadows is a web series that has a very good premise. The earthy characters, realistic performances, and twists keep you engaged most of the time. A very lengthy runtime in each of 12 long episodes and slow pace bore you at times. But still, this series has enough moments that makes up for a decent watch during this lockdown.

Rating: 3/5

July 11, 2020

Lockdown Review : Special OPS – Hindi series on Disney – Hotstar

by 123telugu June 14, 2020

Starring : Kay Kay Menon, Karan Tacker, Vipul Gupta, Muzammil Ibrahim, Sana Khan, Meher Vij, Saiyami Kher, Divya Dutta, Vinay Pathak, Sajjad Delafrooz

Directed by : Neeraj Pandey, Shivam Nair

Producer(s) : Shital Bhatia

Cinematography : Sudheer Palsane, Kavita Sachdeva Wani

So, continuing the series of reviewing movies and shows during the lockdown period, our today’s pick is the Hindi web series Special OPS. The show is available on Disney-Hotstar and let’s see how it is.

What’s it about

Himmat Singh(KK Menon) is a RAW officer who feels that there is a sixth terrorist behind the Indian parliament attacks that happened in 2001. All the five were killed but Himmat feels that there is a sixth person and for this, he forms a team of five who are undercover all over the world to track this attack. The series is an espionage thriller based on the Indian government’s acts to catch this terrorist and how all this unravels is the basic story of this web series.

What’s good?

KK Menon is a terrific actor and he proves it once again with this series as he is amazing as the RAW office who masterminds the search operations. The series is co-written by star director Neeraj Pandey and he sets the story well in various countries. The initial episode is good as it shows how the governments deal with such situations. The last three episodes are quite racy and have the needed twists of an espionage thriller.

The way secret agents live their life and how they go to any extent for the country has been showcased well. The production values of the show are top-notch and create a good watching experience. Karan Tacker does a fine job as agent Farooq and looks dashing throughout the series. The detailing gone into this thriller is quite good

What’s bad?

After an interesting first episode, the story dips in the next three episodes. Too much time is wasted in the backstories of KK Menon which has no connection to the story at all. The story is dragged to no extent and many logical errors keep erupting in. The chemistry between Karan Tacker and Sana just buzzes out and doesn’t appeal much to the viewers.

The transition between the past and present isn’t swift enough as the screenplay is not that gripping. Neeraj Pandey, who is a master with thriller does not get it completely right with his writing here as it has many loopholes.

Final Word

Overall, Special OPS is an espionage thriller from the production of noted director Neeraj Pandey. His story has a decent premise and good performances but the dull narration in the middle episodes keeps you bored. If you sit through this, the last three episodes are quite gripping and have good twists and still make up a decent watch.

Rating: 3/5

June 14, 2020

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