In Charlie Chaplin’s iconic film The Great Dictator, an innocent barber finds himself in an unusual situation when he’s mistaken for a barbaric dictator who looks like him. As he tries to deliver a speech dressed as the dictator, we see a tussle between his own gentleness & the harshness of the man he’s impersonating. This very duality is what forms the core of Killer Soup, where sometimes this battle is more physical, as for Manoj Bajpayee’s character Umesh, while for Konkona’s Swathee it’s more psychological.

Killer Soup, in my opinion, is one of the best shows to have come out of India. Unlike most shows that get made today, it isn’t trying to check the boxes typical of “OTT shows”. It’s just focused on great storytelling with a distinct voice irrespective of the medium, with exhaustive world-building, extremely layered characters, carefully crafted production design & camera work, along with some of the best acting & filmmaking work that you can get to witness today.

The show is (literally) a concoction of a variety of genres & themes, from dashes of crime thriller to smidgens of black comedy & a pinch of classic noir. The show follows Swathee, a woman who has an affair with her husband’s lookalike Umesh. Her husband Prabhakar is rough, abusive, corrupt, drunk on power & money neither of which is his own. Umesh, who’s also Prabhakar’s masseuse, is kind, gentle, insecure but self-fulfilled.

Swathee on the other hand is more complex than the both of them combined. It’s as difficult for us to understand her as it might be for herself. She embodies a sharp, quiet sinisterness which is way more dangerous than what Prabhu could only ever dream for himself, & yet the tenderness in her eyes could put even the landscapes of Mainjur to shame. As director Abhishek Chaubey infuses the story of these 3 eccentric characters with influences from Shakespeare to Chaplin & Mani Ratnam, it results in an excellent, original show that trusts its distinct voice & sticks to it throughout. And as the show progresses & more layers start getting revealed about the different characters and their interpersonal dynamics, it becomes increasingly engaging. And as newer shades of the characters reveal themselves, you get to revel in the joy of seeing two amazing actors act their heart out. As Manoj Bajpayee beautifully trods through the physical & moral complexity of one of his characters impersonating the other, Konkona perfectly embodies the psychological decay of her character while trying to trying to hold on to a sense of normalcy. In the end, it’s difficult to say if anyone is a winner in their story, except for the viewer itself.