(Note: This article contains spoilers)
Of late, murder mysteries and thrillers have been dominating the OTT landscape in India, the latest one being Abhishek Chaubey's Killer Soup, which premiered on Netflix on 13 January.
Starring Konkona Sen Sharma and Manoj Bajpayee in lead roles, the eight-episode-long series has received critical acclaim for its gripping premise and sharp performances.
In the series, Konkona plays Swathi Shetty, an aspiring chef who dreams of opening her restaurant. However, the death of her husband Prabhakar (played by Manoj Bajpayee) foils her plan and sets a conspiracy in motion. Swathi then devises a plan to replace her deceased husband with his squint-eyed doppleganger and her lover, Umesh Pillai (also played by Bajpayee).
According to the makers, the series is "very loosely inspired" by real events but not a direct adaptation of a specific case. However, we found out five striking similarities that the show has to the 2017 Telangana murder case, which baffled the entire nation.
The Telangana Murder Case
Real-life Swathi Reddy and Sudhakar Reddy with their two children.
(Photo Courtesy: X)
In 2017, Swati M Reddy (27), a nurse from the Nagarkurnool town of Hyderabad, made headlines after she killed her husband Sudhakar Reddy (32) with the help of her paramour B Rajesh. According to reports, the couple had been married for three years and had two children together. However, Swati was after Sudhakar's property and wealth.
After murdering Sudhakar, Swati M and Rajesh reportedly dumped his dead body in a forest and burned it there. In order to avoid any police case, Swati M devised a sinister plan with her lover to hide the murder.
She conspires to replace her dead husband with her Rajesh by making a few physical changes to his appearance. Swati M convinces Rajesh to pour a small amount of acid on his face and get plastic surgery done.
Before executing their plan, the couple also visited a hospital and did thorough research about the cost of surgery and whether it could be safely implemented.
Everything was going as per their plan until a bowl of 'soup' entered the picture and unearthed the chilling crime.
The plot of Killer Soup has several resemblances to the case that are too riveting to miss out.
1. Similarities Between the Reel and Real-Life Characters
The names and professions of the reel-life characters in Killer Soup bear salient similarities to the real people involved in the Telangana murder case.
In the series, Konkona's character is called Swathi Shetty, who is a nurse-turned-home chef. The name of the prime accused woman in the 2017 case is M Swati Reddy, who is also a nurse.
While M Swati's husband, Sudhakar Reddy, was a businessman, Killer Soup's Prabhakar Shetty is also an entrepreneur.
Konkana Sen (Swathi) and Manoj Bajpayee (Umesh) in a still from Killer Soup.
(Photo Courtesy: IMDb)
In both, the series and the real-life murder case, Swathi met her lover while working at the hospital as a nurse. Both Umesh Pillai and B Rajesh worked in the physiotherapy department at the same hospital. However, in Killer Soup, Umesh later works as a masseur.
Both real-life Sudhakar Reddy and reel-life Prabhakar Shetty were unaware of their wives' affairs.
2. The Husband's Murder
According to various news reports, Swati M wanted to settle down with her paramour B Rajesh and get hold of her husband Sudhakar's wealth and property. This was only possible by eliminating her husband, which led to a full-fledged murder plan.
Days before executing their plan, Swati M sent both her children to her parents' house in Telkapally. On 27 November 2017, Swati M and B Rajesh (who was hiding in the house) injected Sudhakar with anaesthesia while he was asleep. After he fell unconscious, he was bludgeoned to death with an iron rod by the duo.
Real-life pictures of Sudhakar Reddy, B Rajesh and M Swathi.
(Photo Courtesy: X)
Whereas, in Killer Soup, Prabhakar's death takes place inadvertently. When Prabhakar learns about his wife's affair with Umesh, he confronts her with violence.
In the spur of the moment, Umesh, who was also hiding inside the house, attacks Prabhakar with an iron vase in order to save Swathi. Moments later, Prabhakar dies; however, the cause of his death was a cardiac arrest.
Oblivious to the actual cause of death, both Swati and Umesh think that the murder is on their hands.
3. Getting Rid of the Dead Body
According to a 2017 report by The News Minute, following the murder, Swati M and her lover Rajesh wrapped Sudhakar's body in a bedsheet and took him into the forests, situated 20 km away from their house.
The duo dumped Sudhakar's body in the forest and reportedly burned it.
A still from Killer Soup.
(Photo Courtesy: IMDb)
Similarly, in Killer Soup, Swathi and Umesh also try to get rid of Prabhakar's body in order to avoid any police cases.
The duo wraps Prabhakar's body in a carpet and takes it to a forest, which is a few kilometres away from their house, and buries it there.
Passing the Lover off as the Deceased Husband
To ensure that nobody gets suspicious about Sudhakar's disappearance, Swati M reportedly hatched a plan to swap her dead husband with her lover by making some changes in his physical appearance through plastic surgery.
Unlike Killer Soup, B Rajesh did not exactly look like Sudhakar in the real-life murder case.
Swati M, being a nurse, knew all the tricks of the trade. As part of their plan, she poured a small amount of acid on Rajesh's face and informed Sudhakar's relatives that he was attacked by unidentified people.
A real photograph of Rajesh after his face was disfigured with acid.
(Photo Courtesy: X)
In Killer Soup, after burying Prabhakar's body, Swathi notices an odd similarity between her deceased husband and her lover. She then devises a plan to protect herself and Umesh.
In order to avoid suspicion, Swathi convinces Umesh to disfigure his face with acid to pass him off as Prabhakar to her family. She then fabricates a story of an acid attack on her husband by some unidentified people, which would explain the eye.
However, Umesh accidentally drops too much acid on his face, which results in his eye getting mutilated.
How a 'Soup' Led The Cops to The Criminals
In both Killer Soup and the Telangana murder case, a soup plays a crucial role in leading the police to the criminals.
B Rajesh, who was pretending to be Sudhakar Reddy, was admitted to the Apollo Hospital in Hyderabad for treatment.
The crime came to light when he was served a bowl of mutton soup at the hospital for his burn injuries and refused to eat it, stating that he was a vegetarian.
Sudhakar's family was quick to take note of Rajesh's suspicious action, as their son was a non-vegetarian. Soon, the Telangana Police unearthed more facts during their investigation that led to Sudhakar's well-planned murder and its conspirators.
A still from Killer Soup.
(Photo Courtesy: IMDb)
In Killer Soup, during the inauguration of Swathi's restaurant, Umesh accidentally consumes an excess of the wild mushroom powder that was used to prepare his bowl of soup, which is fatal if consumed in large quantities.
The soup puts Umesh into a semi-drugged state, which compels him to come clean about his real identity in public and in front of the police officers who were present at the party.
Despite all the circumstances, both Swati and Umesh somehow manage to escape the cops towards the end of the show.
(With inputs from The Deccan Herald, The News Minute, The Times of India, IANS, and Business Standard)
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