Director Abhishek Chaubey says he wanted to create something that was dark but funny and he found the perfect recipe for it in "Killer Soup", a genre-blending series headlined by his favourite actors Manoj Bajpayee and Konkona Sensharma.
The eight-episode crime show, set to premiere on Netflix on January 11, revolves around Sensharma's Swathi Shetty, an aspiring chef who wants nothing but the world to enjoy her paya soup. But an accident sets off a series of mishaps and hasty cover-ups that land her and her lover in hot soup.
Chaubey, who has worked with both Bajpayee and Sensharma in different capacities, said "Killer Soup" gave him the opportunity to explore the long format medium through a unique story.
"I have always been fascinated with the kind of space and storytelling where I do not do this monotone thing. I don't think life is like that. I've always wanted to do things which sort of blend a lot of moods. More than genres, it is (this series) different moods. I want to show the audience that it's something pretty dark but they can laugh at it at the same time," Chaubey told PTI in an interview.
Bajpayee, who has previously worked with Chaubey on "Sonchiriya" and the "Hungama Hai Kyun Barpa" segment for Netflix's "Ray" anthology, is playing a double role for the first time in his career.
The actor said while it was difficult to find the correct note for his characters, one a terrible husband, the other a lover impersonating the husband, he had fun exploring.
"It's an intricate balance and it is also something that made everyone very, very unsure when we were performing. At times, you look towards your director and ask, 'Is it right?' and he says, 'I don't know but it looks fun. Let's continue.' Nobody was sure but we went by our instincts.
"But exploring is the biggest fun. (We were) trying to understand every shot and line. They could be delivered five or eight different ways but you had to choose one out of those many options and go after it with full conviction," he added.
Sensharma, who earned a fun nickname 'Shady Swathi' on the set, said it is difficult to bracket "Killer Soup" in a particular genre.
"I don't know whether it is very important to know as an actor, the genre. As Swathi, I was seeing it from her point of view and there were times where I would feel outraged as Swathi. Manoj and Abhishek would be laughing and I would be like, 'I don't know why are you all laughing. It's very serious for her'."
Sensharma said she hit the right note for her character with Chaubey's help. The filmmaker, known for "Ishqiya", "Dedh Ishqiya", "Sonchiriya" and "Udta Punjab", told the actor to think of Swathi as a character from a graphic novel.
"She is practical, smart, intelligent, and aspirational. It is just interacting with your co-actors and one thing that you (Abhishek) said was to think of it like a graphic novel. And that really helped me because I could really see snap shots of Swathi's (reactions)".
Chaubey had worked with Sensharma on "Omkara" where he was an associate director and co-screenplay writer. He also produced Sensharma's directorial debut "A Death in the Gunj".
"While writing, I had this clarity about who I want for this. In fact, I was waiting to finish writing to tell these guys. I was confident that they would say yes because they are great parts," the filmmaker said.
Sensharma said she was "dying to work" with Chaubey ever since his debut. They developed a bond while working on Vishal Bhardwaj's "Omkara". She described Bajpayee as "our living legend".
"I wanted to quickly say yes before it went to anyone else. And what a great part Swathi is. You don't really get to see (such characters). She's interesting and so well detailed.
"I could understand the origin of the story that she's lived a certain life and now wants to do something else. She's a little dismissed by the men in her life. She wants to open a restaurant but she's a bad cook. What a great premise to start off on!"
While her character is not funny, the actor said what Swathi does in the show leads to humorous situations.
"It's not like she went out to do particularly criminal things but she went along with it. She had a greater goal and, of course, life and men were going to get in the way. She had the strength of character and perseverance to go on that journey," Sensharma added.
Bajpayee said while he is in a dual role, it was more like playing three different characters -- the husband (Prabhakar), the lover (Umesh) and the lover pretending to be the husband. They even came up with a portmanteau for Bajpayee's 'third character': 'Pramesh'.
"All three of them (characters) are completely different from each other. You can't get worse than Prabhakar. He is everything that today's women hate.
"Umesh is a great guy but he has his disadvantages. He has his gambling habits, gets carried away by a woman's charm. But in the end, he just wants to run away with Swathi to Puducherry. This is where his goodness lies."
Chaubey has directed "Killer Soup" from a story he co-wrote with Unaiza Merchant, Anant Tripathi and Harshad Nalawade.
The series, set in the fictitious town of Mainjur, also features an ensemble cast of great actors like Nasser, Sayaji Shinde, Lal, Anbuthasan, Anula Navlekar and Kani Kusruti. It is produced by Chetana Kowshik and Honey Trehan.
