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Killer Soup is in complex legal soup over title trademark infringement - Here is a simple explanation of its connection to the plot

Netflix's Killer Soup is in legal trouble over copyright infringement of KKLC's 'killer'. But while that blows over, here's an explanation of its layered symbolism & its relevance to the show's plot.

Kaushiki Ganguly

Jan 22, 2024

Manoj Bajpayee and Konkona Sensharma in a still from Killer Soup

Killer Soup, which had released on Netflix on January 11, 2024, is still trending on Netflix and social media not only because of the sheer number of viewers binging it but also because of the show’s intricate wordplay, easter eggs, and layered symbolism, not to mention ‘killer’ pop references.

What legal soup has Killer Soup landed in?

However, the Netflix original recently landed in legal soup with KKLC for trademark infringement. Kewal Kiran Clothing Limited, according to their statement, are the makers of ‘Killer Jeans’, a highly popular product of exceptional marketing and advertising. It made their trademarked ‘Killer brand’ very popular.

They have sued Netflix and co-producer MacGuffin Pictures for Rs 10 crore and an unconditional apology as well as written undertaking assuring non-violation of KKLC’s intellectual property rights in the future. While the show battles it out with them on legal and creative grounds, let’s look at its layered and symbolic title.

Also read: Four times Killer Soup iconically drew upon the genre of absurdism to delve into deeper themes

The layered symbolism of the title of Killer Soup

The word ‘killer’ is used in the opening scene of the show itself. It is what Manoj Bajpayee’s Prabhakar uses to falsely assure wife Swathi, essayed by Konkona Sen Sharma, of her Paaya soup’s exceptional quality. In reality, her soup would turn the stomach of a crow, and reeks like chemical compost. Despite going for cooking classes, Swathi is a stubborn yet abysmal cook.

Throughout the show, Swathi is unable to feed the soup to anyone willingly, till the very end, using a special ingredient. However, the soup she landed herself and her lover Umesh (again, Manoj Bajpayee) in since the beginning of the series, is equally killer. In a darkly comical Abhishek Chaubey-world, Swathi is like a black cat. Anyone near her who opposes or threatens her either dies or suffers life-altering consequences.

Also read: Konkona Sen Sharma, Karan Johar get candid about their doubts during filmmaking- “Whatever doubts you have, hajam karna parega.”

By the end of the show, Swathi’s cooking cleans up and Umesh cleans their lives of the soupy mess left behind by their hapless victims. Also, Swathi’s special inaugural Paaya soup of her new restaurant is finally delicious because of another iconic and ‘killer’ ingredient. Yes, it is true, they did not really murder anyone with their own hands.

Full of bubbling contents, Killer Soup is layered and symbolic throughout, evoking an ultimate potboiler of mystery, black comedy, surrealism, and drama. Copyright infringement or not, everything about Killer Soup as a show is ‘killer’.

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