Asur: Welcome to Your Dark Side is Voot Select’s hit crime-thriller web series which was released in March 2020. Breathe: Into the Shadows is another web series in the same genre which was released in July 2020 on Amazon Prime Video. Although Asur was released first, I watched it after Breathe: Into the Shadows and the first episode of Asur felt like watching Breathe: Into the Shadows all over again with some details tweaked. To say the least, the latter part of the titles of the shows – Welcome to Your Dark Side and Into the Shadows – sound strikingly similar. Here are some other similarities that I found between the two shows-

A Masked Serial Killer

The killer of both the shows wears a mask. While a Balinese mask is used in Asur, Breathe: Into the Shadows uses a mask made from the killer’s mother’s dupatta. Moreover, both killers are serial killers who follow a certain modus operandi for killing. In Asur, the killer leaves his mask beside the body and chops off the victim’s index finger while in Breathe, the killer broadcasts the video of the killings through news channels.

Mythology

Indian mythology has a strong presence in both the shows. In Breathe: Into the Shadows, we see the killings revolving around Ravana and his ten heads whereas in Asur, the killer thinks of himself as a mythical devil. While the story of Asur is deep-rooted in religion and mythology, it forms only one of the elements in Breathe.

Revenge and Childhood Trauma

Revenge and childhood trauma form the basis of the killings in both the crime-dramas. The killers in both shows have been wronged in their childhood which traumatises them and makes them avenge their culprits in their adulthood. The story of Breathe: Into the Shadows and Asur shows the past and the present events in tandem with each other. Moreover, a cat and mouse chase follows between the officials and the killer in both shows.

Kidnap

Another similarity between Breathe: Into the Shadows and Asur is that a kidnapping happens in both the web series. In the former, a little girl is kidnapped while in the latter, a CBI officer is kidnapped. In both cases, the abductees try to escape the kidnapper’s captivity by cooking up a plan in the washroom, away from the eyes of the kidnapper. Watch the shows to find out which escape plan works and which doesn’t.

The Kidnapper’s Blackmail

Both the shows have a kidnapper who blackmails either the abductee or the abductee’s family. These blackmails are not for money but for committing murders. In Breathe: Into the Shadows, the little girl’s parents are blackmailed whereas in Asur, the CBI officer is blackmailed to murder for the well-being of his family. Even the dilemmas that come with killing another person to save one’s family are shown in the same manner.

Even after all these similarities, what sets Asur apart from Breathe: Into the Shadows is its strong and thoughtful writing. While Breathe: Into the Shadows is watchable, Asur is unmissable!