This anthology series is connected together with the theme of isolation, lockdown and covid, yet more than half of the stories do not do justice to this central theme and remain as general short stories. As they are fairly disconnected, it makes sense to look at them separately.

**Glitch, directed by Raj & DK and starring Gulshan Devaiah and Saiyami Kher.**

This was a strong opening for the movie. As much barren the science fiction space is in Indian cinema, the likes of this and Cargo keep the hope alive. Enjoyed this extrapolation of the persistent long term lock-down. Always liked Raj & DK, since Go Goa Gone. I like the quirky freshness they bring to the industry which otherwise produces pretty formulaic movies.

**Apartment, directed by Nikkhil Advani and starring Richa Chadha, Sumeet Vyas, and Ishwak Singh**

Not at all related to Covid, but still a tale of isolation, hopelessness and betrayal. Felt as this was made for Richa Chadha alone as she gets to the most screen time and most emotional scenes. She does not disappoint, but still, the story is fairly simplistic, and not believable.

**Rat – A – Tat, directed by Tannishtha Chatterjee and starring featuring Rinku Rajguru and Lillete Dubey**

Two women having nothing alike, share a house. Both are lonely and upset for vastly different reasons and it is in that loneliness they find an unlikely friendship bridging decades worth of age gap. The house in this story is a character too. Loved almost everything on the set and of course the Mumbai rains. The last semi-classical rendition in the backdrop of rains is worth a memory.

**Vishaanu, directed by Avinash Arun and starring Abhishek Banerjee and Geetika Vidya Ohlyan**

During the lockdown, a young migrant family is thrown out of their rented house, decide to sneak illegally into a lavish sample flat. It is the same site on which Abhishek Banerjee’s character has worked as a construction worker. This is by far the best and unique setting among the bunch. It gets up close and personal with the lockdown days. The plight of migrant workers comes alive in Abhishek Banerjee’s flawless acting. The ending could have been better, it felt abrupt to me.

**Chaand Mubarak, directed by Nitya Mehra and starring Ratna Pathak Shah and Shardul Bharadwaj**

Ratna Pathak is a powerhouse. Like the second story made for Swara, this is made for Ratna Pathak. A middle-aged lady coincidently meets a rickshaw driver and develops an affable bond. There are social and religious divides, and their conversational relationship almost reaches levels of friendship. This too isn’t the best choice for the central theme of the movie, but still a decent watch.