What It’s About:
So Avinash alias J is getting treated for his illness in a mental institution. Three years have gone by since his daughter was rescued from his hands and he murdered four people to revenge something that is still a mystery. So now he needs to be locked up, but he also murders the remaining six, because, remembers the Raavan idea. It scales how he manages to come out and fulfill he alter ego in Season 2 (it is 3 but never mind).
What Is Effective:
The previous season of Breathe had a rocky start. It is intended to be a symbolic story about a guy being taken over by a violent alter ego out for vengeance. It mentioned Raavan and the notion of destroying his ten heads, each of which represents one evil. On paper, it appeared to be a foolproof notion, but the execution was so above the surface that the metaphor didn’t even land well, let alone go deeper.
Season 2, once again helmed by Mayank Sharma (plot, screenplay, directing) with Arshad Syed, Vikram Tuli, Priya Saggi, and crew without prolific writer Bhavani Iyer, has the burden of taking that extremely fragile ground and building a castle that should hold strong even with the earthquakes. While they don’t achieve to the point where one can claim the program has arrived, the positive cannot be overlooked.
Except for the great Naveen Kasturia, the show mostly keeps the original characters. This season, the actor has the finest narrative. Team Breathe creates ultimate drama despite the mystery surrounding him, and they also succeed in making it all look convincing.
There is no denying that there is incredible drama around his history, but it isn’t as bothersome as the others, thus it all works in Kasturia’s favor.
To the program’s benefit, the producers make things sharper this time and do not overstuff practically everything as they did last time. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t an abundance of it.
Performance of the Year:
Abhishek Bachchan’s portrayal of Avinash nicknamed J develops because he emotes more than in the previous season when he was primarily puzzled or dumb. He has to portray two personas without a mask this time. While the transition is silly on paper and does not appear to be a true mental disease, the actor does well with what he is given. His fatherly instincts are being employed less this time, which is not working well.
Season 2’s finest feature is Naveen Kasturia. The actor is a major surprise since you might not have expected him to do this at all. He flips the script from what he’s been doing at the TVF camp. It’s encouraging to see him experimenting and becoming confident. More like this, Naveen.
Nithya Menen begins the season as though she is going to take over, but she is nothing more than that. So does Amit Sadh, who is simply following the criminal without any personal growth or character development. Saiyami Kher is half-forgotten, but she has a fantastic storyline that could have been explored.
What Isn’t Working:
The creators must decide how much drama and make-believe is too much. Because Breathe: Into The Shadows, in both seasons, set a new standard for requiring viewer suspension of disbelief. Add in a hurried execution, and you’re left wondering half the time “what is even happening?” For example, at one point, Abhishek Bachchan is apprehended and explains how he got himself apprehended to carry out his plan, but you soon realize that it was all a convenient plot twist.
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Or Nithya Menen, who was opposed to the alter ego killing people 5 minutes before, is now willing to kill someone because of family. But where is her catharsis? Where is her battle to force herself to kill someone? Nobody drops only two tears in an auto rickshaw after violently murdering someone for the first time. Also, why is there such a scarcity of CCTVs in 2022? Also, aren’t the cops and medics being too easy on a man who has murdered four people?
That takes me to the peculiar execution of Avinash’s two identities. I doubt any subject matter experts were ever contacted. Because it never feels credible or worth investing in.
Speaking of credibility, Naveen’s character sends fragments of a photograph that is evidence against someone to the CBI like a jigsaw at one point. There is even a CBI officer working on that puzzle. Who precisely are we discussing? CBI is a desired organization with a career that entails more than just solving riddles!
The main issue with Breathe’s founders is their ambiguity about where to quit. The climax contains so much information that it may have been stored until the following season.
Another season, still so uninteresting, Abhishek Bachchan’s starring requires a major overhaul if it is to be a game changer.
