‘Kolaveri Di’ (the number from ‘3’) created quite a stir some five years ago, and Dhanush its verse writer named it ‘Soup Song’! In urban lingo ‘Soup Boy’ could be a rejected lover! Now here comes a short film titled, ‘Soup Heroes’. The connotation may seem oxymoronic, but these heroes have some brain, and of course, no brawn. ‘Soup’ isn’t a very complimentary epithet but you can comprehend what they are driving at!
Action comedy genre in short films is rare. Rishi Karthik’s ‘Soup Heroes’ belongs to this not-oft seen category. It is a 38-minute narrative, which isn’t racy but is definitely rib-tickling most of the time.
To lure the girl he’s in love with, a naïve young man tries to impress her with his super hero mask and daredevil ‘action.’ The ploy is because the girl is crazy about super-hero films. Together with friend Kumaresh, who roams around in a ‘Batman’ mask, Rishi tracks down two chain-snatchers and cracks a case which remains unsolved even by the police. Not that it leads to love blossoming in the girl’s heart.
Scripting, directing, editing, producing and playing a ‘soup’ hero – Rishi Karthik does them all and comes out with a fairly watchable offering.
Like a Five Act play, ‘Soup Heroes’ has a Prologue and an Epilogue. What lies in between is the funny action of two self-proclaimed heroes and an equal number of ‘super villains’ as Rishi calls them.
Avoidable flashbacks slow down the tempo of ‘Soup Heroes.’ But thankfully they don’t spoil the hilarity. It is fun from the word go. Yet why so many four-letter words in an otherwise decent short? Of course, the words are either muted or ‘beep’ed but they don’t help much. Even if it’s a norm among youth, our two-hour features don’t have them.
Dialogue is casual, reactions are natural and expressions are spontaneous.
Kumaresh, as a friend and the other soup hero, scores with his realistic responses. The humorous exchanges among the characters are the highpoints.
The bloopers are entertaining too. If you like youthful, light-hearted fare, catch ‘Soup Heroes’ on YouTube.
You will enjoy this Rishi Karthik short that comes to you from Bench Flix.
