Actor Saiyami Kher says she was drawn to the quirky world of filmmaker duo Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK's short film from the Amazon Prime Video anthology "Unpaused" as it gave her an opportunity to go to a movie set, seven months after coronavirus-induced lockdown.
"Unpaused" also features four other short films -- directed by Nikkhil Advani, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Avinash Arun, and Nitya Mehra--revolving around the themes of hope, second chances and new beginnings.
In an interview with PTI over Zoom, Kher said for "Glitch", the short helmed by Raj-DK of Amazon series "The Family Man" fame, the duo offered her a part she couldn't turn down.
"When this came along, there was a lot of excitement because I was sitting at home for seven months and I really wanted to get back on a film set. The character which they offered me was something I really wanted to do.
"Raj and DK have a unique way of saying something serious in an extremely quirky manner. For the shoot, we had taken necessary precautions. Everyone had reached a point where we felt we need to start resuming our lives... Unpause it," she said.
Kher said though they were shooting in "uncertain times", she felt extremely comfortable on set.
The films were shot in compliance with government rules and regulations issued in Maharashtra, for filming during the Unlock phase.
"When I reached the sets, I was extremely nervous. But it was a comfortable environment. Raj and DK are easy to work with, there's no stress on set. It was quite breezy," she added.
The actor, who made her Bollywood debut with the 2016 "Mirzya", was the last addition to the "Glitch" crew.
Kher was not in town and came in barely two days before the shoot, while her co-star, Gulshan Devaiah had already begun the work.
The actor recalled that the shoot coincided with heavy rainfall in Mumbai and the team wasn't sure if they would be able to go on floors.
Yet, Kher prepared for her part—kept "strictly under wraps for now"—with the help of her non-actor friends.
"As an actor, probably to overcompensate lack of talent, I like to prepare a lot. I love to do my homework, that's a process I enjoy.
"But for this film I didn't have the time so I got two of my friends to voice record the entire script for me. That's how I learnt my lines while driving back to the city," she added.
"Unpaused" marks her fourth release for the year, after Hotstar Special series "Special Ops", Amazon series "Breathe: Into the Shadows" and Netflix film "Choked", directed by Anurag Kashyap.
Kher said though the year has been good for her on a professional front, she felt anxious as she couldn't "capitalise" on her success due to the lockdown.
"Anxiety was definitely there. As an actor, even when there was no lockdown I was anxious, so this time around my anxiety went double folds. Professionally, it has been a good year with three diverse releases.
"It was a high, but I would've liked to capitalise on it. Sign on more fun things, which didn't happen, which is why anxiety comes in easily in human minds," she said.
What kept Kher going was the unprecedented rise of streaming platforms, particularly this year, when the audience moved to the digital space for entertainment as theatres remained shut for more than six months.
"The streaming platforms opened up avenues for so many actors. In the back of my mind, I was always thinking, if I'm half decent, I'll at least get some work."
"Unpaused" is slated to be released on December 18.
