‘Makers are responsible lately, censorship is unnecessary'

CHENNAI: We enter a hotel room and see Manoj Bajpayee and Nassar involved in a serious discussion as director Abhishek Chaubey and Anbuthasan are all ears. As we settled down for a chat, they were more than excited to talk about Killer Soup, which has been trending the global charts. “In the last decade, I have watched quite a lot of series like Game of Thrones, and Breaking Bad to name a few. Not only I enjoyed watching them but also I understood the grammar behind them. I was trained in screen writings for films. When it comes to shows, the structure is really different. I tried to understand that. It has to be an eight-hour story and yet it has to be pacy. Killer Soup revolves around that grammar,” says Abhishek Chaubey.

Manoj Bajpayee has been the face of Indian OTTs on the global stage with the tremendous success of The Family Man. Killer Soup is an addition to it. “Before I sign a project, I don’t look at the external challenges. I see what is offered to me as an actor. There are a few parameters like whether it is taking the actor forward, or is there space for other actors to evolve and explore. When Abhishek came to me with Killer Soup, I had no doubts in my mind as I knew his potential. Killer Soup didn’t let me stay in the skin of my character. One day he is Prabhu on sets and the other day he is Umesh. So I had to switch on and off instantly. Moreover, I had a good bunch of co-stars like Konkona Sen Sharma and Nassar,” the actor opens up.

Killer Soup has its own moments. It is quirky, funny, violent and isn’t devoid of expletives. On the whole, it stays true to what the team set out to deliver. However, Manoj Bajpayee and Nassar aren’t in favour of censorship when it comes to OTT platforms. “I have always been against censorship in all forms. We have parental guidance with age restrictions. I am a father to a 12-year-old and we keep an eye on what my daughter is watching and the kind of content she consumes. There is a certain age, where she would be exposed to certain content. If you ask me whether censorship helps in stopping the audience watching adult or obscene content, I would say no. It is difficult to stop them,” remarks Manoj. Nassar agrees with his co-star and adds, “If a certain section of people believe that OTT platforms are the launchpad of vulgar content, they should watch dance and songs from those days. The movements promoted more vulgarism than today’s OTT content. There is a thin line that defines sex and vulgarity.” Manoj speaks for the industry and content that they have been delivering. “Filmmakers have become far more responsible in delivering good content and they know what would be accepted and what wouldn’t be,” he states.

Anbuthasan plays an assistant sub-inspector named Thupalli. “I am glad that Thupalli has been received well. Even when I started off with my YouTube channel a few years ago, I didn’t believe that I would have a lot of subscribers. The differences between YouTube, mobile, cinema and OTT come through the size of the cameras they are filmed in, if you are clear about what the audience is expecting from you as a content creator,” he tells us.

Nassar plays a cop named Hassan in the series. He has played a cop several times before but this one to him is unique. “I try to avoid cliches through my characters. So when I agreed to don the khaki again, it means that there is something beyond that to his character. I may be a police inspector but he is also a human. That is what I liked the most about Hassan in Killer Soup.”