‘Killer Soup’ On Netflix Review: Manoj Bajpayee, Konkona Sen Sharma’s Dark Comedy Grows On You Like Fine Wine

Netflix is here with their latest dark comedy, ‘Killer Soup’, which gives you the perfect chills of a crime thriller as well. It is loosely based on a real-life 2017 case based in Telangana. With a famous director at the helm of things and a cast that’s laden with stellar actors, ‘Killer Soup’ is definitely one of the most talked-about shows coming from Netflix India. It has been creating a lot of buzz with its unique promotional techniques and the makers have been able to get the show the necessary buzz.

‘Killer Soup’: Story

‘Killer Soup’ is based in a fictional hill station in Mainjur, Tamil Nadu. It revolves around the life of an aspiring yet talentless nurse-turned-home chef, Swathi (Konkona Sen Sharma). Swathi dreams of owning a restaurant. However, she isn’t able to as she doesn’t find anyone to invest money in her restaurant. After a freak accident, she now conspires to replace her husband, Prabhakar Shetty (Manoj Bajpayee), with her lover and Prabhakar’s squint-eyed doppelganger, Umesh Pillai (Manoj Bajpayee). The chaos that follows next is what the story is all about.

‘Killer Soup’: Performances

Konkona Sen Sharma plays a character that has so many different shades that you’re constantly juggling between your emotions. Whether it’s the lowly housewife, or the damsel in distress, or the cold-hearted killer or the criminal mastermind, she is good in every bit of the show.

Manoj Bajpayee plays two vastly different characters and not for one will you get one confused with the other. He has played them so strikingly different from one another. While one character is loud and obnoxious, the other makes you feel for him as he seems to have been caught in the wrong place at the wrong time always. Bajpayee makes both the characters likeable and hate-worthy at the same time. That switching between emotions makes the character stand out so perfectly.

Sayaji Shinde with his loud antics and abuses makes you want to hate the character. Even though you realise that he isn’t actually the bad guy, you still end up making yourself convinced that he has sinister intentions and that’s why all of this is happening to him. Managing to elicit such emotions from audiences despite not being the bad guy is brilliant.

It’s a shame that Kani Kusruti had such a small character in the show. She is the perfect candidate for a dark comedy like this, and yet she has been given such a small character that you’re left begging for more of her onscreen. She does manage to build your intrigue with her quirky take on the character, but it would have been good had her character been a bit more lengthy onscreen.

Nassar comes up once again with a very subtle performance. He knows that he isn’t one of those Singham-type cops who can win over everyone with his charm, but he manages to win you over with his intelligence and wit.

Anbu Thasan will leave you laughing towards the start with his straight-face comedy. However, later on, he doesn’t talk much, but he manages to entertain you to the fullest with his facial expressions and ghostly theatrics.

Rajeev Ravindranathan might have had a small character, but the way he brings out the comedy effect makes you guffaw every time he is onscreen.

The rest of the supporting cast has managed to do decently well.

‘Killer Soup’: Script, Direction & Technical Aspects

The writing by Abhishek Chaubey, Unaiza Merchant, Harshad Nalawade and Anant Tripathi is the best thing about ‘Killer Soup’. The numerous twists and turns that they have brought into the story will leave you baffled. However, they do leave quite a few plot points open at the end, which you were hoping to get a closure of.

Abhishek Chaubey’s direction is probably the weakest link in ‘Killer Soup’. There are numerous shots which were so standard for a crime thriller that you could predict them coming from miles away. Thankfully the story was engaging enough to keep you hooked. What Abhishek Chaubey’s direction also faltered is in the way he started the show. The first episode is so haywire that you’re absolutely confused as to what you’re watching. While he has been able to make the show grow on you like fine wine in the coming episodes, but what about those who switched off the show after not being able to fully understand the first episode? Trust me, that population would have been a lot.

Anuj Rakesh Dhawan’s cinematography is a high point of ‘Killer Soup’. The way he has showcased the beautiful hilly locales and the tea estates is gorgeous. Not only that, even in the indoor shots, he has brought such a fast pace to the narrative by switching the camera back and forth a lot. Also, the chase sequences are shot so brilliantly that you’re left feeling as if you’re running alongside. Terrific work!

Sanyukta Kaza and Meghna Manchanda Sen’s editing is really good. They’ve managed to keep the show’s length quite crisp. This wasn’t a narrative that could have been described in 20-30-minute episodes, and therefore they took their time to expand the horizon and kept the audience guessing by pushing the episodic lengths to almost 50 minutes each. There are numerous jump cuts but contrary to popular belief, they serve a purpose here and make the fast-paced nature of the narrative come alive.

The music by Benedict Taylor and Naren Chandavarkar does its job perfectly. They’re able to make you feel like you’re a part of the story. Not just with the opening track but even the background score is racy and, at times, eerie that you’re getting more and more engrossed in the storyline.

‘Killer Soup’: Cast & Crew

Director: Abhishek Chaubey

Cast: Konkona Sen Sharma, Manoj Bajpayee, Nassar, Sayaji Shinde, Anula Navlekar, Lal, Rajeev Ravindranathan, Kani Kusruti, Shilpa Mudbi, Anbu Thasan, Vaishali Bisht, Mallika Prasad Sinha, Bagavathi Perumal, Raja PRS

Available On: Netflix

Duration: 8 Episodes, 43-59 Minutes Each

‘Killer Soup’: Can Kids Watch It?

Yes

Outlook’s Verdict

‘Killer Soup’ is definitely not a cup of soup for everyone. You need to bear the initial episode and a half of uncertainty before you suddenly are in the midst of it all. While the makers promoted it as a dark comedy, the comedy aspect is quite minimal, to be honest. However, the numerous twists and turns make up for it though. Also, some of the plot points are quite standard and feel predictable. Manoj Bajpayee and Konkona Sen Sharma’s performance is excellent, and even the supporting cast is quite good. Overall, it’s a decent One Time Watch. I am going with 3 stars.