Amazon Prime and chill? Well, that’s a tough one to answer but it seems the entertainment company has started grabbing a spot in the headlines with its riveting and ingenious shows. The latest one to dash into headlines is R Madhavan’s cloak and dagger thriller Breathe.

Written and Directed by Mayank Sharma, Breathe is a breathless tangle of mystery, murder and a labyrinthine trail.  The trailer had been a telltale, much to everyone’s surprise, of what the series is all about, but it was definitely one right move. The plot deals with an unseemingly incoherent skein of murder by a child’s father, played by Madhavan, who apparently liquidated many organ donors for saving his son’s life.   Revealing the plot however seemed to have piqued everyone’s interests- the murderer is known, the intention is no secret- so the basic question that arises here is what more intricacies lie coiled at the heart of the story.

 

The pilot unfolds surgically, a young girl voluntarily commits suicide and leaves back a video shot during her final moments; wherein she claims that her parents have got nothing to do this. Lurking in the shadows stands Danny (Madhavan) who casts a long shot glance at the lifeless body of the female and then steps out of the scene. Next up is cop Kabir Sawant (Amit Sadh) who is a dipsomaniac and is exceptionally shrewd in his dealings. The pilot also sheds light on the cop’s early life and how it shaped him and the pilot did a perfect job too- create the perfect alpha for the dark and grisly tale that follows.

The plot unfolds perfectly, punctuated by twists at the correct timings. The pace at which Danny goes from being any other regular coach and a doting father to a murderer determined to save his son’s life is startling to an extent. Concurrently, cop Kabir Sawant is floating in a pool of his own depression and agony; exuding a certain amount of badassery with his skills. While he seems to be tipsy most of the time, he knows exactly how to do his job. The cop recognises a pattern in the seemingly unrelated, mysterious murders – credits to his sheer brilliance or maybe pure luck - and sets out on his wild goose chase. Soon their worlds collide and both the men have something similar to share- their monstrosity is a result of their impuissance at the hands of fate.

The story seems to falter a bit though during its first three episodes, but that can be done away with. The performances are applaudable although the storyline is quite predictable. Apart from a few loopholes, Breathe is one heck of a good watch.