WATCH OUT FOR HRISHIKESH JOSHI WITH ABHISHEK BACHCHAN IN SECOND SEASON OF “BREATHE” ON AMAZON PRIME FROM JULY 10

Jyothi Venkatesh

The first season of the web series Breathe on Amazon Prime featuring R Madhavan in the lead role proved to be a hit on national and international level. The second season of the series being released on July 10, will have many things changed, except a few including the character played by leading stage actor Hrishikesh Joshi. The second season featuring Abhishek Bachchan in the lead role too has Hrishikesh Joshi in the very important character of Inspector Prakash. After Inspector Prakash’s character played by Hrishikesh received applause from various quarters including his co-artists like R Madhavan, director, producers, critics from across the globe, his character has been elevated to a different level bringing at par with the leading characters in the series. His inspector is all set to rock in the second season of Breathe.

The first Season of ‘Breathe an Indian crime drama thriller web television had R Madhavan in the lead role, while the second season will see none other than Abhishek Bachchan as its hero. Noted South Indian actress Nithya Menen is in a key role in the season after having different actresses in the first season. The structure of the series is such that the lead characters keep changing, but except for two characters, which are played by Hrishikesh (Inspector Prakash) and Amit Sadh, who is playing Inspector Kabir Sawant.The second season produced by Abundantia Entertainment and directed by Mayank Sharma is being premiered on July 10 on Amazon Prime. Bhavani Iyer, Vikram Tuli and Arshad Syed have written the series.

Recently we were dubbing after the shooting, when Abhishek Bachchan told me that my character is going to grab the highest attention in the second season. He said that the character is going to be the surprise package of the season. It was a huge compliment for me. We became friends during the shoot of the second season. We used to take our meals together, play cricket on the set during free times. He loves chatting and shares interesting anecdotes. He loves eating sweets, so do I. Ashishek had brought Gajar ka Halwa made by his mother Jayaji, especially for me during one of our shooting sessions. He has lot of respect for Marathi actors and Marathi theatre,”says Hrishikesh Joshi

After shooting for the season at various locations in a number of Indian cities, the producers had organised trial shows to take sense of the response from the audience. The audiences not only appreciated Inspector Prakash played by Hrishikesh Joshi, but also were mandated in the favour of the character when they were asked which character they would like to see again in the third season of the series. The survey was conducted to check the response and take reviews for the characterization for the next season.

“When I was offered the first season, the genre was new for me. I was not even aware about its structure. But there was no doubt in my mind that this is going to be the future of the industry. I decided to do the series. My audition was for two scenes. It was liked by the producers, director very much. I was asked to sign the contract immediately. After the huge response to the character of Inspector Prakash, I was especially called by producers to congratulate. I was told that Inspector Prakash will be there in all the forthcoming seasons, even if other characters changed. I was told that Inspector Prakash’s character will be more significant in the second season and later it was written in that fashion,” says Hrishikesh.

The first season of Breathe received overwhelming response in all South Indian states, US, UK, South Africa, Gulf countries. Hrishikesh Joshi’s Inspector Prakash got special praises. The character received applause in the US, while some American critics tweeted in praises of the character. R Madhavan congratulated Hrishikesh for his commendable character in the first season. Hrishikesh has many hit films, plays, TV serials to his credit. His character in Hindi film Kaminey was applauded a lot. Ajacha Divas Majha, Masala, Deool, Poster Boyz, Poster Girl, Cycle are some of his award winning Marathi films in which he had played leading roles. Lagna Kallol, Mukkam Post Bombilwadi, Shobhayatra, Yeh Bhau Doke Nako Khau are the popular Marathi plays that have featured Hrishikesh in key roles. Nandi, the Marathi play written and directed by him was a different type of experiment applauded by the critics and audiences alike.