Breathe: Into the Shadows is a thriller web series on Amazon Prime Video. It stars Abhishek Bachchan, Amit Sadh and Nithya Menen in lead roles. Despite having a powerful cast, Breathe: Into the Shadows fails to meet the high expectations set by the eerie trailer of the thriller web series.

The six-year-old daughter of a couple is kidnapped without any contact for nine months when one day the kidnapper turns up with a gruesome task for the parents to complete. The story has a strong premise but the plot’s delivery falls short.

Avi has multiple personality disorder and his split personality, J is the villain of Breathe: Into the Shadows. This dated portrayal of mental disorders feels stereotypical and overused. J is shown as the evil and destructive split with a dark past. His mental disorder is scary and frightening. This negative depiction of a mental illness reinforces the stigma around it.

The plot of Breathe: Into the Shadows feels half-baked at times because many sub-plots don’t lead anywhere towards the end of the web series. Gayatri finds a tunnel in the wall of the washroom and Siya explores it only for it to turn out to be of no use. A lot of mystery is built around finding this tunnel and the conclusion of this sub-plot doesn’t justify it. Saiyami Kher’s character as Shirley looks forced and pointless. I kept waiting for her character to shape up but that never happens and she doesn’t add much to the movement of the plot. Kabir is stabbed in the first episode of Breathe: Into the Shadows but the pain of his injury doesn’t show up until the tenth episode when it is needed to move the plot forward. It is almost as if the makers of the web series forgot that Kabir was wounded in the initial episodes.

Another aspect that doesn’t work for Breathe: Into the Shadows is how unevenly it is paced. In the whole first episode, we just see Avi and Abha waiting and crying for her daughter and the kidnapper to contact them. The pace frequently slows down in between the show and it is only when the killings happen that the show becomes gripping and exciting. The last episode of Breathe: Into the Shadows is rushed and all the facts about the kidnapper are revealed to the characters in one go. It feels as if the makers wanted to quickly get the reveal out of the way so that they can create suspense around the cliffhanger at the end.   

The performance of the actors is appreciable as Abhishek Bachchan’s acting gives a clear distinction between his character as Avi and J. Amit Sadh does a good job in playing the hot-headed cop hell-bent on tracking the criminal. Nithya Menen also shines in her role as a caring wife and a doting mother who often saves the day by smartly handling risky situations. I wish she were allotted greater screen space and a deeper characterisation exploring more sides of her personality. Plabita Borthakur does justice to her role as Meghna. Her character is wheelchair-ridden but doesn’t wallow in self-pity. Instead, she is a cheerful and strong woman who has a heart of gold to become friends with the person responsible for her condition.

All in all, I won’t call Breathe: Into the Shadows a mind-blowing thriller, but it is watchable. The story has loose ends here and there but it will keep you wanting to know what happens next. However, I’d like to give a trigger warning as Breathe: Into the Shadows contains gore and disturbing murder scenes.

Rating: 3/5