Killer Soup Review: Konkona Sen Sharma and Manoj Bajpayee Strike A Wonderful Duet In Deadly Broth

Killer Soup Review: A beautifully produced crime and investigation caper characterized by sharp writing and flawless acting

A recently deceased man’s phone rings. The caller is another deceased man. That properly marks the end of the first episode of Killer Soup, Abhishek Chaubey’s delightfully offbeat crime series.  The owners of the phones have died, but the twisted connection lives on and influences the plot of the extremely weird eight-episode Netflix series. The bizarre is par for the course here. As more people die, each life lost throws a tangible and metaphorical shadow over those who live.

A Latin sign outside a mortuary in the imaginary Tamil Nadu hill village where Killer Soup takes place says “Mortui vivos docent” (“the dead teach the living”). In this neck of the woods, the living learn very little. They desperately attempt – and fail – to shake off the burden of the deceased.

Killer Soup, a beautifully produced crime and investigative caper with whip-smart writing and flawless acting, is eccentric, witty, and enormously amusing. Swathi Shetty (Konkona Sen Sharma) is one of the film’s two main characters, an unskilled cook who wants to open her own restaurant.

Her self-centered husband, Prabhakar ‘Prabhu’ Shetty (Manoj Bajpayee), vows to assist her but is more concerned with digging himself out of a hole after botching multiple business ventures. Their marriage is a formula for disaster.

Arvind Shetty (Sayaji Shinde), Prabhu’s foul-mouthed elder brother, alternates between fraternal fondness and acidic candour. He takes every chance to chastise Prabhu for his profligacy. Prabhu shamelessly feeds off his older brother. The latter, too, has several skeletons in the closet.

Disappointed with both her possessions and her lack of them, Swathi begins an affair with Umesh Pillai (Bajpayee in two roles), a masseuse who works for the Shetty brothers and is well-versed in their dubious business dealings.

Swathi and Umesh become terrified when their relationship is revealed. A series of poor decisions puts them in a soup. Following an abrupt demise, a frenzied attempt at concealment, and an unsettling rebuilding of their face, their deceit, treachery, and falsehoods take on almost demonic dimensions.

Together with co-creators and writers Anaiza Merchant, Anant Tripathi, and Harshad Nalawade, Chaubey crafts a suspenseful, darkly comedic criminal thriller that knows exactly where it’s going but manages to keep viewers on the edge of their seats.

Similar to Chaubey’s motion pictures, the series is based on a distinct, real-world setting. Nonetheless, the soundtrack is a mashup of several dialects and languages spoken with different accents. The variety of language quirks and rhythms greatly enhances the performance.

Tamil, Malayalam, and Dakhini are widely used to intersperse the several Hindi and English dictionaries scattered throughout the series. Combine the following: AR Rahman’s Tu hi re tere bina main kaise jiyu (from Mani Ratnam’s Bombay) and Robert Frost’s “The woods are lovely, dark and deep” and Macbeth’s soliloquy “Life’s but a walking shadow”; you have one of the most aurally varied Indian web shows ever. Pav Bhaji and Nina Simone’s “Sinnerman” are also inclu

The charm is increased by the actual, physical dimensions of the charming environment captured by Anuj Rakesh Dhawan’s camera. Roads weave around green valleys. Sloping hills attempt to break through the clouds. Beneath the town’s placid exterior, however, lies a lethal stew of suppressed passion, dashed hopes, extortion, and sinister alliances. 

When her options and patience run out, Swathi turns to drastic measures. Umesh is pulled along, at times kicking and complaining, at other times hesitating but eventually caving in. Their relationships and enterprises are a “bloody” disaster because of their lives. Killer Soup’s men and women are like trotters in a soup. It gets worse the more they attempt to wriggle out.

In Killer Soup, Swathi is not the only lady aspiring to have her own room. Apeksha ‘Appu’ Shetty (Anula Navlekar), Arvind’s only daughter, wants to be an artist. A famous Parisian art school calls her up. However, her father makes fun of her for drawing nudities. He is adamant that she would be better off managing the family company.

An accountant in Prabhu’s company and a proponent of Kalari, Kirtima (Kani Kusruti) aspires to be more than just the custard tarts she makes to enhance Swathi’s paya soup, which is missing a key component that Khansama Mehrunisa (Vaishali Bisht in a significant cameo) is reluctant to give up. Could there be more to Kirtima and Swathi’s rivalry? Nothing in Killer Soup should be taken lightly. It’s currently baking.

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Additionally, Killer Soup is a police procedural. A few weeks away from retirement, Inspector Hassan (Nassar) is not in a rush to investigate Swathi’s allegation that her husband was attacked with acid. He is neither a cynical pro nor a bumbling officer. Speaking to a student, he states, “We don’t get paid to think.”

However, Thupalli (Anbuthasan), a rookie police officer, is one hell of a guy. Combining poetry and law enforcement, he finds himself in the middle of multiple bizarre meetings with Inspector Hassan as the latter searches for hints concealed in poetry.

Chaubey goes above and beyond the typical for his debut online series. The area he explores in Killer Soup is much away from the dusty upcountry surroundings of Ishqiya and Sonchiriya. The change in location results in an engaging performance that seamlessly transitions between a slow-burning and fast-paced pace without experiencing any dips in tone. 

Although Killer Soup adheres strictly to its neo-noir aesthetic, the imperfect individuals that make up the story aren’t wicked in the traditional sense. At worst, they are self-serving and corrupt. It’s noteworthy that not a single murder, nor the events that follow, are planned. 

Sen Sharma and Bajpayee take on parts that are unlike any that they have ever played. They begin a fantastic duet, challenging and enhancing each other in a game of cat and mouse where the victim and predator frequently switch roles and the conspirators frequently work against each other.

Sayaji Shinde steals many a moment, along with Nassar as the amiable inspector Lal, who pulls punches alongside Arvind Shetty’s assistant. Kani Kusruti performs with a remarkable lack of effort. Anula Navlekar’s portrayal of a lady imprisoned in a hellhole is equally remarkable.

Benedict Taylor and Naren Chandavarkar’s background score is a mouthwatering feast of sounds. Like ripples in a stream, they move through the play at a continuous tempo and rhythm, matching the rain and the gusts.

As the show comes to an end, Sen Sharma’s character asks, “Kaisa laga sabko mera soup (how did you all like my soup)?” The unambiguous answer: We adore it.         

Cast:

Sayaji Shinde, Nassar, Konkona Sen Sharma, and Manoj Bajpayee

Director:

Chaubey Abhishek