Out of breath

Nonika Singh

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A six-year old girl is kidnapped…expectedly her parents are desolate. But are they desperate enough to kill? For some time Breathe breathes in exactly this atmosphere of fear, thrill and intrigue. Who exactly is this masked kidnapper, why does he want the couple, a noted psychiatrist Avinash Sabharwal (Abhishek Bachchan) and his beautiful chef wife (Nithya Menen) to murder on his behalf? For the first four episodes you are as eager and apprehensive as the couple in question, even sitting on tenterhooks, bracing yourself all agog with anticipation; what next?

The moment the identity of the ‘bad uncle’, is revealed, well, poof, your curiosity and rationale together go for a toss. Why did he sit on the kidnapping for good nine months, before demanding his pound of flesh? As you try to put two and two together, which we understand needn’t be four, much seems illogical. But then craziness/insanity doesn’t work by reason; even though certain acts and actions are built to justify the killers and kidnapper. Surprisingly, it is not just the bad guy who is remorseless, but also the civilised ones who kill without compunction and do not seem to bear the burden of guilt at all.

Yes, to be fair, the director maintains his grip on his narrative even though it has shades of so many other films and series we have seen in recent times. Split personality is not exactly a new theme. The key is, how well the makers can package the crime thriller set in Delhi. Indeed, with Abhishek Bachchan making his debut on the OTT platform and competent Amit Sadh reprising his part of the cop from the previous season and host of actors like Saiyami Kher, and, of course, Nithya, the veneer shines bright. Sadly, much remains on the surface. Even though we are led into the labyrinth of mind, nothing of consequence really emerges. Strangely enough, in one scene Nithya even throws the word ‘mind games’ at her psychiatrist husband.

Writers also take a cue from Brad Pitt-starrer Seven, which too dealt with a serial killer and played on seven deadly sins. Here the desi twist comes by drawing from Raavan and his ten traits of arrogance, anger, lust et al. Only these do not culminate into a deep insight.

The back story of why revenge is needed from seemingly hapless victims, one of whom is germ-phobic, is not reasonable enough. The reason behind the traumatic state of Avinash’s mind is not exactly revelatory either. Another problem with Breathe is, like our movies, the moment a star comes on board everything starts hinging around him. Last episode is stretched out to further propel the lead actor. Abhishek in the dual part isn’t bad at all, even switches well. The expression in his eyes takes just the right tinge of unhinged. Yet, why does he have to hog the screen space for most of the runtime? You can’t help but wish the cop on his tail Amit Sadh (on point) as Kabir Sawant had gotten even more space. Saiyami Kher as the call girl with rules deserved better too, though one suspects she would have a bigger part in the next season, the possibility of which is more than probable right now.

Binge-worthy even if not satisfactory… you can certainly breathe in and out. Mercifully, here is one series that is sans abuse and explicit erotica. Even though one of the plot twist deals with woman’s lust for woman, it does not cross the line. But that is not why it refuses to make you breathless… the bottom-line is it does not push the envelope. The cues and clues laid out are far too pedestrian to make it international stuff or edgy enough, which is what web series on Amazon Prime ought to be.