Breathe: Into The Shadows Web Series Review: Abhishek Bachchan- Amit Sadh Thriller Is A Slow Burn
Breathe: Into The Shadows follows Dr Avinash Sabharwal as his 6-year-old daughter is kidnapped by a mysterious masked man, who demands an unusual ransom- to kill someone.
Star
Cast:
Abhishek
Bachchan,
Amit
Sadh,
Nithya
Menen,
Saiyami
Kher
Director:
Mayank
Sharma
Available
On:
Amazon
Prime
Video
Language:
Hindi
Duration:
40
minutes/
12
episodes
Story:
The
story
follows
Dr
Avinash
Sabharwal
as
his
6-year-old
daughter
is
kidnapped
by
a
mysterious
masked
man,
who
demands
an
unusual
ransom-
to
kill
someone.
Meanwhile,
Kabir
Sawant
continues
his
pursuit
for
justice
in
the
hostile
environment
of
the
Delhi
Crime
Branch.
Review:
Directed
by
Mayank
Sharma,
Breathe:
Into
The
Shadows
is
a
show
that
will
take
a
360-degree
turn
halfway
through
and
leave
you
baffled.
The
psychological
crime
thriller
sets
you
up
for
a
mystery,
with
no
way
of
knowing
where
it
goes
until
the
perpetrator
is
revealed.
Breathe:
Into
The
Shadows,
unfortunately,
is
not
about
the
parents
whose
child,
Siya
has
been
taken.
But
about
the
serial
killer
running
amok
who
also
improves
Siya's
eating
habits
while
in
captivity.
Dr
Avinash
Sabharwal,
played
by
Abhishek
Bachchan
is
a
psychiatrist
who
has
a
thriving
practice
in
Gurugram.
He
has
so
much
credit
to
his
name,
that
he
also
assists
the
Delhi
crime
branch
in
criminal
psych-evaluations.
Along
with
his
wife
Abha,
he
co-parents
a
6-year-old
'juvenile
diabetic'
Siya.
The
unfortunate
event
of
her
kidnapping
takes
place
at
Siya's
friend's
birthday
party.
When
Siya
is
not
found
for
nine
months,
Avinash
begins
to
wonder
if
she
is
even
alive
and
returns
to
his
normal
life,
while
Abha
continues
to
print
missing
pictures
and
looks
for
her
daughter.
Breathe
2
Marks
Abhishek
Bachchan
And
Nithya
Menen's
Digital
Debut
The
problems
with
the
show's
screenplay
surface
early
on.
Not
only
do
you
see
the
makers
struggling
to
raise
the
stakes
with
each
episode,
but
they
also
fail
to
convey
the
emotional
complexity
of
the
characters.
We
know
Abha
and
Avinash
are
struggling
but
apart
from
occasionally
lying
on
the
couch
and
talking
to
the
police,
we
do
not
see
the
couple
struggle
at
all.
Rather,
Dr
Avinash
seems
so
calm
you
begin
to
wonder
if
something
is
wrong
with
him.
Amit
Sadh
As
Kabir
Sawant
On
the
other
hand,
Crime
Branch
Sub
Inspector
Kabir
Sawant
has
just
been
let
out
of
jail
due
to
a
case
calling
for
police
accountability.
Following
his
collateral
damage
victim
Meghna,
Kabir
also
moves
to
Delhi
to
make
sure
she
is
doing
okay.
While
this
does
give
Kabir
some
dimension
and
a
reason
to
move
to
Delhi,
unfortunately,
it
does
not
give
him
enough
footing
in
the
story.
Amit
is
left
out
as
a
subplot
and
a
supporting
character
who
has
given
one
of
the
best
performances
in
the
show.
Ivana
Kaur
As
Siya
Sabharwal
Instead
of
exploring
good
actors
and
their
character's
emotional
complexity,
Breathe:
Into
The
Shadows
continues
to
add
more
subplots
to
justify
their
actions.
The
slow-paced
screenplay
and
12
‘long'
episodes
drag
the
story
longer
than
needed,
which
also
take
away
its
urgency.
Even
after
revealing
majority
of
the
story,
one
is
left
wondering
if
the
hints
are
going
to
lead
anywhere.
Breathe
2
Is
Now
Streaming
On
Amazon
Prime
Video
While
R
Madhvan's
character
in
Breathe
season
one
is
taken
over
by
his
need
to
save
his
family,
Avinash
is
unsure
about
everything,
saving
his
child,
killing
for
his
child
and
even
if
his
child
is
alive.
Saiyami
Kher
plays
an
interesting
character
and
with
little
screen
presence,
she
still
manages
to
leave
a
strong
impression.
The
show
will
remind
you
of
several
other
films
like
Bhool
Bhulaiyaa,
Brad
Pit-starrer
Seven
and
will
make
it
feel
like
a
mash-up
put
together.
Overall
Breathe:
Into
The
Shadow
is
a
slow
burn
that
will
give
you
very
little
to
go
on
after
every
episode,
and
make
you
want
to
skip
to
the
end
to
find
the
truth.
Bonus:
The
one
thing
in
this
Amazon
original
that
worries
me
the
most
as
a
viewer,
is
the
impression
it
will
leave
on
the
mass
audience
about
mental
health
and
people
who
live
with
DID
(Dissociative
Identity
Disorder).
Given
the
unfinished
research
around
DID
and
the
circumstances
in
which
the
antagonist
develops
a
split,
it
is
hard
to
believe
that
J
(alter-personality)
would
try
to
harm
the
host
personality
and
that
the
host
was
not
aware
of
the
alter
even
after
receiving
treatment
as
a
kid.
I
am
far
from
an
expert,
but
due
to
the
topic's
sensitivity,
hope
the
makers
have
not
exploited
creative
liberty
for
the
story's
sake.