REVIEW: ‘Murder Mubarak’ Is An Annoying Tale With A Satisfying Ending

When a gym trainer is found dead at the elite Royal Dehli Club, Assistant Commissioner of Police Bhavani Singh (Pankaj Tripathi) is assigned to the case. But what looks like a simple enough case soon unwinds into a complex knot of murder, betrayal, and lies in the comedic mystery Murder Mubarak. The film is directed by Homi Adajania and written by Anuja Chauhan, Gazal Dhaliwal, and Suprotim Sengupta.

No review is harder than for a film with a strong core but no support. When the concept is there but not enough is done with it. Even some of the surrounding elements support what feels like a solid premise. Unfortunately, too many problems drown out what is good, leaving behind a subpar experience. This is the fate of Murder Mubarak.

The central mystery of this film is twisted in just enough ways to keep the audience guessing until the big reveal at the end. The murder is one of many issues that crop up among the club’s patrons’ other dealings. By the end, everyone seems guilty. And they are, just not of the murder. As Singh sifts through the decades of dirty laundry that hangs over the club, he must deal endlessly with the establishment’s entitled clientele. And that is where the film falls apart.

Too much of Murder Mubarak‘s nearly two and a half hours are spent in dry conversations with vapid rich people. Many characters could work in smaller doses. But the sheer amount of time spent with them makes their various foibles go from deplorable but entertaining to just plain deplorable. They bring the plot’s pace down far too much. Causing the film to run longer than is necessary with little positive to show for it. They come to do little but annoy as they gossip and backstab each other. And Singh himself doesn’t help matters much.

While he never detracts from scenes, he often doesn’t help them that much. The character presents himself as one who doesn’t miss much. While Tripathi can play out the character so the viewer can tell when the sharp-eyed investigator is on to something, there isn’t enough outwardly done to make Signh feel like a real presence. He’ll have a twinkle in his eye and a playful energy about him at times. But it never gets to fully come out. It frustrates the viewer as it feels like the character is so close to being memorable.

While these characters fail in the moment-to-moment dialogue, many deliver rewarding conclusions. The various secrets that they hide each deliver a unique finale. While some secrets lead to dirty laundry, others reveal hidden pains. These surprise revelations help breathe some humanity into its cast. Happily, Murder Mubarak never tries to use these moments to excuse the dehumanizing way many of the elites treat those around them.

While much of the film’s humor falls flat through the annoying personalities that fill it, a few moments shine. At the film’s beginning, a gala-style event descends into an awkward brawl.  Seeing many of the rich attendees flailing at each other is laughable. The embarrassing display crafts a moment for the audience to get to laugh at those who view themselves as “social betters.” This style of humor is attempted frequently, but this is the time it shines the best.

The film being a mixed bag, there is one genuinely solid element. Bambi Todi (Sara Ali Khan) and Aakash Dogra (Vijay Varma) are the only strong characters from the club’s client list. This pair of unrequited lovers end up caught up in the mystery like everyone else at the club. But while everyone else wishes Singh would go away, they come to actively engage in the case’s unfolding.

Khan and Varma have excellent chemistry here. The unresolved tension between them is balanced perfectly throughout the movie. Dogra’s inability to walk away from Todi, despite her stringing him along for much of their lives, feels authentic. While their love story comes across as superfluous to the core plot of Murder Mubarak for much of the film, it is ultimately brought into the narrative in an extremely skillful way. It is the film’s strongest plot thread.

Given the setting, it is inevitable that commentary about classism would be found throughout this narrative. Despite the film’s Indian origins, the many cultural clashes between the rich and poor explored here are universal enough for anyone to grasp. Hearing the club’s president proudly talk about how, for decades after India gained independence, only British people were still welcomed at the club isn’t something a viewer needs a detailed understanding of to know why that isn’t something to be proud of. While the social issues are never gone into great depth, the breadth of them highlighted throughout makes it clear that they are problems the film is going out of its way to call out.

Murder Mubarak is a comedic mystery that is, at best, a mixed bag. While the core plot comes together intriguingly, too much holds the film back. Far too much time is spent listening to the largely annoying cast, which is a failing the rest of the film cannot make up for. If it were about 30 minutes shorter and spent less time just talking, it would be a much better film. As it stands, it’s just okay.

Murder Mubarak is streaming now on Netflix.