CAST: Abhishek Bachchan, Ivana Kaur, Nithya Menen,
DIRECTOR: Mayank Sharma
Avinash Sabharwal is a successful psychiatrist who is often summoned to court on matters of abnormal psychological behavior. But at home, he’s a happy father to a young daughter, Siya—that is, until she goes missing at a birthday party. Avinash and his wife Abha are despondent after months of searching, until they receive a ransom note that demands Avinash kill another man in return for Siya’s life.
How far would you go to save someone you love? The question is hard to answer until your back is against the wall. This creates such an exciting space for fiction to flourish—imagining the scenarios that play out as your morality is at war with your heart.
Breathe: Into the Shadows‘s pilot is relatively strong in setting up the stakes for the season. We spend time with Avinash (Abhishek Bachchan) at work, where he convincingly spews some medical jargon to prove that a murderer on trial is suffering from schizophrenia, and at home where he has an extremely adorable relationship with both his wife Abha (Nithya Menen) and daughter Siya (Ivana Kaur). So when his idealistic life is torn from him, we are at least marginally upset and invested on his behalf.
Breathe: Into the Darkness is a nice comeback for Junior Bachchan. He really shines as a doting father and that charm only bodes well for what will likely be his descent into madness.
Abha, played by Nithya Menen, holds her own with Bachchan, embodying a mother’s grief with ease. Primarily a South Indian film star, her performance will likely be noticed by audiences across India as long as she is given enough to do in the remaining episodes.
