The death of a tough Zumba instructor at a fancy Delhi club three days before election day unsettles the patrons. It is requested that the occurrence be written off as a gym mishap. However, an experienced police investigator uses unorthodox techniques to suspect foul play and determines that there is more going on here than meets the eye.
That’s how Murder Mubarak, a whodunit with a caper movie vibe, starts out. It is entirely entertaining, with well-chosen editing and a cast of performances that, for the most part, perfectly capture the essence of the genre.
The Homi Adajania-directed murder mystery weaves its way through peculiar and hence unforeseen twists and turns that keep the Netflix movie on a steady boil while ACP Bhavani Singh (Pankaj Tripathi) searches for clues and answers.
The police officer characterises the recent events as a “strange” love tale towards the conclusion. Yes, it really is. Murder Mubarak is not just about a love relationship between two people; it’s also about a group of people who go to a fancy club in the hopes of hoping to wash away their transgressions and worries, if not outright wishing them away.
Bhavani says, later in his investigation, that a killer is typically a regular person. The policeman says, “He (or she) is probably a club member who is proud of themselves right now for getting away with murder.”
Murder Mubarak, which Suprotim Sengupta and Gazal Dhaliwal adapted from Anuja Chauhan’s Club You to Death, features a gallery of bigmouths, hunks, voyeurs, socialites, predators, and lovers—all of whom are on Bhavani’s suspect list.
It turns out that the person who passes away, Leo Matthews (Aashim Gulati), gave almost everyone he interacted with a reason to wish him dead. Although Bhavani’s work is difficult, he makes it appear easy as he sets one trap at a time and waits for the murderer to step into it and reveal himself. He works with a capable aide named Sub-Inspector Padam Kumar (Priyank Tiwari).
Bhavani is not like the other Hindi film detectives at all. He would rather not put on a uniform. He doesn’t even have a pistol on him. The 48-year-old man is unflappable and responds to provocation and stonewalling with soft repartee, wearing a slight, knowing smile on his lips. In only ten days, he will go to Lucknow. His spouse is sick of Delhi’s filth and pollution.
The story, which uses techniques known to aficionados of the detective genre, is laced with clever humour that targets privilege, vanity, and the false bubble that the Royal Delhi Club represents. It is a critique on a class that is status-conscious and trying to hang onto what they see to be their inheritance.
Young widow Bambi Todi (Sara Ali Khan) and activist-attorney Akash “Kashi” Dogra (Vijay Varma), who were once in love but broke up for unspecified reasons years ago, offer Bhavani uninvited assistance. The latter is in Delhi for Diwali. He has lived in Kolkata for three years, a period during which, his mother (Grusha Kapoor) believes, the man picked up his “Commie” tendencies.
The needle of suspicion moves one way, then another, and then yet another. Bhavani spares nobody. On his widening radar is Cookie Katoch (Dimple Kapadia), known for her tequila and beetroot cocktail; Roshni Batra (Tisca Chopra) and her son Yash Batra (Suhail Nayyar), a drug addict just out of rehab; and Shehnaz Noorani (Karisma Kapoor), a fading movie actress who throws her hat in the ring for the post of club president.
Shehnaz’s rival is Rannvijay Singh (Sanjay Kapoor), a man from a royal family who never lets anybody forget his lineage. He is at home in a club where ayahs, servants, gunmen and security guards are not allowed beyond a point and employees and waiters are barred from using restrooms meant for members.
The staff at Royal Delhi Club – where, the outgoing president Devendra Bhatti (Deven Bhojani) tells Bhavani, heads of state have played golf – have their own ways of getting back at the ill-behaved members. One of the club’s oldest staffers – Guppie Ram (Brijendra Kala) – has lost his mind but knows enough to be of use to everyone.
And there is Ganga (Tara Alisha Berry) who works in the club’s beauty parlour. Her back story begins to have a bearing on the investigation as Bhavani inches ever closer to the bottom of the truth. What complicates the probe is that while the killer could be anybody who has ever had anything to do with the victim, none of the suspects is outright wicked. They do not look like folks who would use murder as a weapon against anybody.
The death with which Murder Mubarak kicks off isn’t the only one that occurs in the film. There are three others along the way – a murder committed in the past, a suspected suicide in the present, and a tragic accident involving a pet.
The film is set in a world where darkness of the soul dominates but director of photography Linesh Desai does not smother it with overly atmospheric lighting. Much of Murder Mubarak plays out in open spaces but the film is within the confines of a cocoon. Life on the streets and in the neighbourhoods of Delhi aren’t part of the film’s visual palette.
When Murder Mubarak moves indoors, the frames aren’t excessively gloomy and grim. The even lighting conveys the superficiality of the world that club exists in. It also serves as a contrast to the complex, twisted knots that Bhavani must untangle.
Pankaj Tripathi’s easy performance facilitates Murder Mubarak’s rhythmic settling. Sara Ali Khan is a little unpredictable; she wavers uncomfortably between being a seductress and evolving into a lady of many secrets. Playing a man who is uncomfortable with all the ostentation surrounding him, Vijay Varma keeps things lighthearted and flexible.
Dimple Kapadia, Karisma Kapoor, Tisca Chopra, and Sanjay Kapoor are among the ensemble cast members who contribute their pieces to the puzzle with the perfect balance of playfulness and intensity.
In Murder Mubarak, action does not always equate to result. Additionally, the script makes sure that the conversation is interesting. The editing keeps pace with the speed at which the investigation unfolds and the directorial flourishes ensure that the film is never less than riveting.
