Nitya Mehra has directed the segment, Chand Mubarak, for Amazon Prime's anthology film, Unpaused. The segment stars the stellar Ratna Pathak Shah and Shardul Bharadwaj playing key roles. The stories in the movie deal with the pandemic, or deals with how different people deal with the pandemic differently. In an interview with LatestLY, Nitya revealed that she contracted COVID-19 after making the film. She said that often wonders if her approach towards the film would have been different if she had contracted the disease before shooting.

We were talking about the effect the pandemic would have on theatres, when she disclosed her diagnosis. "I am desperate to a theatre. And I would have gone but I got COVID so I could not go," Nitya began. "I am desperate to watch plays again and I am desperate to watch movies in theatres again. As a filmmaker, I am thankfully that we have many more platforms where we can tell many more stories. I am worried about censorship disturbing that liberty we have gotten."

She added, "I am also very conscious of the fact that there is this trend right now, where everyone is feeling 'oh ab to hum ghar baith ke picture dekhenge'. I think it is imperative for people to have collective human experiences. People will realise that."

Watch Interview Here:

When probed further about her COVID-19 diagnosis, Nitya said, "It was fine. If I had got it a bit earlier, I was wondering, before making Chand Mubarak, will my take on the film be different. But, I realised, it wouldn't. Because the film that we have made is something that would stand true whether it is pre-pandemic or post-pandemic. It has a commentary on life and the world. I am fine. I am very lucky I had a very mild version and, yea, I am back."

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 22, 2020 10:20 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).