The whimsical characters make this murder mystery work for the most part, but if you are in for more depth and discernment, you might want to look elsewhere.
The Good
- Whimsical characters
- Pankaj Tripathi, Sara Ali Khan
- Mystery
The Bad
- Generic
- Too many characters
When I sat down to watch Murder Mubarak, the Netflix platform showed it to be similar to Knives Out (2019), a typical Agatha Christiesque movie like Murder on the Orient Express (2017). And that is what Murder Mubarak, an adaptation of Anuja Chaujan’s potboiler mystery novel Club You to Death, turns out to be. It’s a generic whodunit that largely works because of the quirky, humorous characters played by the actors in good form.
For the record, this is Anuja Chauhan’s third novel, which has been adapted on screen. The previous one was The Zoya Factor (2019), which was adapted from the novel of the same name. Dil Bekaraar (2012), the web series on Disney+ Hotstar, was retweaked from her novel Those Pricey Thakur Girls. Both the adaptations, again for the record, were underwhelming.
Murder Mubarak director Homi Adjania is more of a Mumbai-vibes director. His previous ventures include Being Cyrus (2006), Cocktail (2012), Finding Fanny (2014), and Angrezi Medium (2012). It is his web series debut, Saas, Bahu Aur Flamingo on Disney+ Hotstar, that he set out from metaphorical Bombay.
In Murder Mubarak, most characters still have the Mumbai flavour. A B-grade starlet, an oddball liquor-swigging socialite, a typical rich junkie, a big-talking businessman type who drops names, two passionate lovers and a cop who alone is closer to the North Indian ethos. But this gaggle of variegated characters makes Murder Mubarak work, which otherwise is a bit generic, with the tropes being mostly predictable. In that, someone is killed in a confined location, and there are a bunch of suspects. The cop with an assistant arrives. After turning the needle of suspicion on everyone, the case is resolved. You know the beats!
Here, the scene of action is the snooty upscale Delhi club Royal Delhi Club. The members are typically ‘elite’, whose polish and fun outside hide things much different inside. But they are fun on screen. There is the merry Bambi (Sara Ali Khan), a widow with a thing or two for the lawyer Akash Dogra (Vijay Varma). Their romance is one of the interesting sidelights of this mystery—the snobbish royal Rannvijay (Sanjay Kapoor). The Bollywood starlet Shehnaz Noorani (Karisma Kapoor), the liquor-guzzling socialite who thinks she is a sculptor, is Cookie Katoch (Dimple Kapadia). The drug addict Yash Batra (Suhail Nayyar) and his mom Roshni Batra (Tisca Chopra). For good measure, Ganga (Tara Alisha Berry) and Gappi Ram (Brijendra Kala), who are part of the club, are also under suspicion as the Zumba instructor Leo Thomas(Aashim Gulati) is found dead on the premises. Assistant Commissioner of Police Bhavani Singh (Pankaj Tripathi) and sub-inspector Padam (Priyank Tiwari) are tasked with resolving this intriguing crime.
Pankaj Tripathi plays the cop with a certain felicity that is at once agreeable and impish. He supplies the impish chutzpah needed for such a character in good measure. In a cast filled with zany characters, Pankaj Tripathi and Sara Ali Khan walk away with acting honours. Sara is breezy yet very impactful in the widow role. Her romance with Vijay Varma gives the proceedings a strong bulwark. The rest are no slouches, either. Sanjay Kapoor as the exaggerating royal is effective.
Homi Adjania has nothing much to do as his whimsical characters make this murder mystery work for the most part. This may not be for you if you are looking for more depth and discernment.