There is something about the movies full of suspense and thrill – they keep the audience gripped, which only intensifies as the plot unravels. One of the recently-launched dark comedy thriller drama series on the popular streaming platform Netflix – “Killer Soup” is one such story that has garnered immense popularity among audiences.
Netflix announced on Wednesday that “Killer Soup,” directed by Abhishek Chaubey and featuring Manoj Bajpayee and Konkona Sen Sharma, has secured a position in the top 10 trending non-English shows across 11 countries, including India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.
Crafted by Unaiza Merchant, Anant Tripathi, Harshad Nalawade, and Abhishek Chaubey, the plot revolves around the character Swathi Shetty, played by Konkona Sen Sharma. Swathi, an aspiring chef, harbours dreams of opening her restaurant to serve her favourite ‘Paya soup.’ The narrative unfolds in the fictional village of Mainjur in South India, with scenic backgrounds drawn from Kerala, often referred to as “God’s own country” for its picturesque landscapes. Alongside Konkona, Manoj Bajpayee takes on a lead role in the series, marking their first collaboration on screen.
All through the movie Swathi is singularly focused on a specific goal – opening her restaurant and impressing everyone with her trotter or paaya soup. Unfortunately, the downside is that she’s not a proficient cook, and inexplicably, she remains unaware of the fact that her culinary abilities are far from impressive.
While the initial half is filled with various thriller elements, it’s in the latter part of the story that the plot deepens and adopts a more serious tone. Unfortunately, I can’t disclose many details without risking spoilers, as the plot line is laden with numerous twists, and characters seem to fall like Newton’s apple.
While the central plot revolves around Umesh and Swathi’s attempt to deceive the world, numerous subplots unfold in the background. Prabhakar’s older brother, a formidable figure portrayed by Sayaji Shinde, operates an illicit business under the cover of his expansive tea estate. His defiant daughter, played by Anula Navlekar, aspires to pursue art studies in France, much to her father’s disapproval. A newly recruited and overly enthusiastic policeman, ASI Thuppali, portrayed by Anbu Thasan, suspects foul play and takes it upon himself to investigate the case. Meanwhile, his senior, portrayed by Nassar, just a few weeks away from retirement, appears indifferent to the situation. Kani Kusruti’s character, an employee of Prabhakar, holds potentially crucial information that she may not be willing to disclose. Adding to the mix is a boisterous and unkempt cooking teacher, played by Vaishali Bisht, who guards her secret soup recipe with an almost mystical demeanour. It’s a complex web of characters and storylines to unravel!
For many decades, the division in mainstream cinema between heroes and villains was stark and unmistakable. However, there has been a noticeable shift towards embracing morally ambiguous characters, hasn’t there? Perhaps there’s a certain attraction in characters whose motivations defy a simple ‘good’ or ‘bad’ categorisation. Perhaps this is also why crafting such characters poses a unique challenge.
The 2017 Murder Case
Based on a gripping murder case that shook Telangana in 2017, the accused nearly escaped without consequences but were eventually caught due to a bowl of mutton soup. The characters’ names in the story closely mirror those of the main suspects in the real-life 2017 crime – Swathi Reddy and her lover Rajesh.
Sudhakar Reddy, a 32-year-old businessman, was happily married to M Swati Reddy, a 27-year-old nurse at a private hospital, with whom he had two children. Unbeknownst to Sudhakar, his wife was having an affair with Rajesh, a physiotherapist at the same hospital. Swathi harboured plans to settle with Rajesh and acquire Sudhakar’s property, leading to a sinister plot to eliminate her husband.
The murder was meticulously planned for November 27. Swathi sent her children to her parents’ house days before the crime. As Sudhakar slept that night, Swathi and Rajesh, who were hiding in the house, administered an anaesthetic injection, causing him to lose consciousness. Swathi and Rajesh then brutally killed Sudhakar, using an iron rod to bludgeon him and smothering him with a pillow. The body was wrapped in a bed sheet and disposed of in a nearby forest, with some reports suggesting they also burned the remains to erase evidence.
It was only after days of investigation that the true culprit was unveiled, so go watch this amazing thriller series unfold and get your brain cells working.
