'Killer Soup'.
Killer Soup’ is unappetising, despite its impressive ingredients. You do want a series headlined by Manoj Bajpayee and Konkana Sen Sharma to get everything right — the teasers did promise some deliciously grim humour.
There is palpable overcooking here. The setting, the characters, the music and the cinematography all seem to be a mixture of Roald Dahlesque sensibilities and high-pitched, somewhat aimless kitsch. In a dark comedy, excess can be spectacular, if done well. Director Abhishek Chaubey (of ‘Ishqiya’ and ‘Udta Punjab’ fame), achieved this sort of overspill superbly in the story ‘Hungama Hai Kyon Barpa’ in the series ‘Ray’ (on Netflix). Here, he falters in trying to do too much and at breakneck speed.
The first episode begins with Swathi (Konkana) cooking in the kitchen of a cosy home in Mainjur, a fictional town near Madurai. The walls of the living room are adorned with happy pictures of the couple. In walks Prabhu (Bajpayee) clad in an eye-hurting printed shirt and sits down, burping already, for his meal. Swathi has prepared her signature Paya Shorba, which, considering the build-up, you expect to be a tour de force. It is terrible and furtively thrown into the sink by the acidity-prone Prabhu.
This scene defines the entire series. You keep expecting things to fall in place, but alas, they go hither and thither and finally down the drain. The plot is dizzy and one is not sure if that was the intended effect! There are murders, double roles, missing identities, too many asides, a nod to magic realism and stuffed-in pop culture references (Swathi and her lover have the male and female versions of the ‘90s hit number ‘Tu Hi Re’ as their ringtones). It also wants to be a police procedural. The ever-dependable Nassar delivers a fantastic performance as an investigating officer. But, whew! Convoluted is the word I am looking for. The cast is superb, and their acting skills are unmatched. But there’s not much maya in this paya.