STAYING ALIVE

Filmmaker Mayank Sharma believes good content will find its way. His journey to directing Amazon’s second Indian original, Breathe, is proof of that. After assisting in films (David Dhawan’s Chashme Baddoor) and directing shows such as Darr Sabko Lagta Hai (&TV), Sharma began writing a psychological thriller—his favourite genre. Inspiration came after he saw a man frantically step out of an ambulance to find an escape route in traffic. “The fear on his face, the feeling that time is running out, the moment stayed with me,” said Sharma. This encounter also provoked the question on which the show rests: how far can you go to save a loved one?

The eight-episode series centres on Danny Mascarenhas (R. Madhavan), a single parent who is desperate to help his six-year-old son suffering from a lung disorder. Kabir Sawant (Amit Sadh) is a troubled senior inspector investigating accidents which he feels are not open-and-shut cases. The moral ambiguity of the two characters is what Sharma believes is the selling point of the show. Having worked on the small screen, Sharma was convinced that Breathe was suited for a “more mature audience, one that appreciates intelligent storytelling and fine visuals”. He also knew that he’d need a medium which would give him a running time of more than two hours to justify the characters and the story arc. Web streaming seemed ideal. “It’s a different beast,” says Sharma. “It’s very hard to hook the audience for 320 minutes.” A fan of international shows such as Walking Dead, Prison Break, Bosch (on Amazon Prime) and True Detective, Sharma is confident that the show has both the emotional connect and “hook moments and cliffhangers” to have crossover appeal.