Director and co-writer Abhishek Chaubey brings viewers a quirky dark comedy-crime thriller series starring Manoj Bajpayee, Konkona Sensharma, Nasser, Sayaji Shinde and Lal and produced by Honey Trehan and Chetana Kowshik. The series, with 8 episodes, has a runtime of 50 minutes each.
The quiet town of Mainjpur in South India gets ready for a mystifying and shockingly twisted series of crimes that are as humorous as they are bafflingly funny. The series’ huge runtime seems daunting to go over, and it does take a lot of time to get to the point. Most of the time, this dark-comedy crime-thriller goes over and over the same thing and some or the other gag tries to keep things moving. At first, it is funny and quite entertaining, and there are a couple of laughs to be found here, but the series never provides any form of intrigue at any point to balance the humour with its crime-thriller aspects.
Konkona Sensharma’s Swathi is a bored housewife with a dream, but her terrible cooking always hinders her ability to be more than what she is. Her good-for-nothing husband, Prabhakar (played by Manoj Bajpayee), is another reason why she isn’t able to do better for herself, as he himself isn’t capable of much more than being his criminal brother’s lackey. The comedy in this series hinges a lot on the silly kills and the absurd situations in which Swathi and her lover Umesh find themselves.
In spite of its rather funny and interesting premise, which could’ve been more than just another comedy thriller trying to be really meta, Killer Soup really falters in bringing the feeling of shock and thrill out. At no point do you feel like something immediate and threatening is about to happen that can destroy everything. Even when something mildly problematic happens, the series has some convenient way to end the issue quickly and move on to find the next issue to solve.
After the novelty of the first few episodes wears off, the repeated and predictable nature of the series starts to bog it down thoroughly. It eventually becomes very outlandish and confusing, and you are left to wonder what is even happening. Absurd storylines can be extremely interesting and make sense at the same time, but this crime-thriller doesn’t deliver that experience and leaves you wondering what is even happening. When the last episode rolls around, apart from character trajectories, there’s very little story arc that will intrigue or interest you.
The story, however, is also a love story between Swathi and Umesh, as well as about her ambitions that she had almost given up on. The two principal characters are thoroughly dangerous, but there’s a unique tenderness to their story that makes you want to root for them. These two weird people constantly manipulate and lie to each other, and their relationship is something no one should strive to have in any capacity, but in their own little odd world, these two make sense.
In spite of the flawed characters and the storyline, Swathi and Umesh will resonate with a lot of people. Technically, these two didn’t kill anyone and it just happened by chance. Their relationship also a little twisted and quite toxic, feels relatable in a way. I think it’s because the actors do a fantastic job with their characters that these moments pop up and make you root for their insane plots and plans!
Meanwhile, Nassar’s Police Officer Hassan is a character whose antics blossom after the first few episodes go off the rails after a while. His character is supposed to be a hard-boiled detective needing some push, but it’s a little much after a while and doesn’t stay entertaining. However, you root for his antics nonetheless because at least he’s trying, even though it’s out of guilt more than responsibility for his job.
It’s really great to watch Sensharma back on screen – she’s a breath of fresh air who fits into this dark and dreary story like a puzzle piece. She’s shockingly effective as Swathi, whom you root for and fear at the same time. Meanwhile, Bajpayee is deliciously unhinged, and his insane and unhinged character is just great to watch. Special shoutout to the makeup team, who have done a splendid job with Umesh’s eye makeup. It looks disturbingly real.
Killer Soup Review: Final Thoughts
This weirdly unhinged show doesn’t have the desired effect that one might expect from its dreary atmosphere and superb cast. For most of its runtime, it goes on this wild goose chase and then eventually forgets about the goose at some point as well. I kept waiting to be thrilled, but it never really came. It had some predictable twists that you’d be able to see from miles away which don’t help either. All in all, this one won’t be a lot of people’s cup of tea.
The series is streaming on Netflix.
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