The trailer of web series Breathe gives a lot about the story, but lead actor R Madhavan says the show has a huge surprise value even if the audience already knows the killer.

From the time the trailer of the show was launched last week, the audience has already got a sense of the story of Breathe, in which a father kills organ donors to save the life of his son who needs a heart transplant surgery. Amit Sadh, who plays an investigating officer, wants to catch the killer.

Asked why the makers unveiled the entire story in the trailer, Madhavan said: “Well, despite the audience getting to know who is the killer and why he is killing, who is going to catch him and if at all… I can confidently till you that the audience will be surprised to watch what happens in the end.

“When we were preparing the trailer, we knew that people might just come up with this question, but the show has much to offer because it is not a murder mystery, it is a thriller. So even though you know who the killer is, there is much to discover in the episodes.”

Giving the example of his latest Tamil film Vikram Vedha, he added: “Even in that, people knew who the killer is, but the intriguing value of the film was enough and more for the audience to come to the theatre to watch it. It is the same with Breathe as well.”

Directed by Mayank Sharma, Breathe is an eight-episode gritty psychological thriller which also features Sapna Pabbi and Neelima Kulkarni. The show will be released on Friday in three languages – Hindi, Tamil and Telugu, across 200 countries and territories worldwide on Amazon Prime Original.

Madhavan said he finds the acceptance of audience towards digital entertainment quite fascinating as the power of good content and stories win every time.

“We have to take certain things into the consideration from the audience’s end when they are searching for content. Watching a film in a theatre takes a lot of effort — from booking the ticket, driving the car, beat the traffic to reach to the theatre… So the content, the visual treatment, the star cast, everything has to be that perfect to bring the audience into the theatre,” he said.

“On the other hand, TV is an appointment-based medium. There, one has to watch the show at a particular time. On digital shows like ours, the audience is the boss. They can watch it anytime, many times and in whichever style – like a binge watch or episodic way.

“Therefore, it is an exciting platform I always wanted to get in,” said the actor, known for his performance in Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein, Rang De Basanti, Guru, 3 Idiots and Tanu Weds Manu.

What made him choose Breathe?

“Considering the fact that Indian audience is already exposed to some of the international digital shows on Amazon Prime, the fact is our content and production quality has to match up to that level to compete.

“Since I am entering the digital entertainment first time, I was cautious about choice. When I heard the story, I think I couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity,” Madhavan signed off.