Absolutely nothing is wrong with the Royal Delhi Club. With a 20-year-long admission wait, gorgeous amenities, and famous members, the club is a textbook definition of the word “perfect.” That is, until the club’s fitness coach Leo Mathews is found murdered. Suddenly, ACP (Assistant Commissioner of Police) Bhavani Singh has ten days to solve the mystery before the club’s reputation is forever tarnished.
“Murder Mubarak,” which translates to “Congratulations on murder,” takes the classic murder mystery trope and turns it up a notch. It’s quickly discovered that Mathews is not the innocent fitness coach he was made out to be; prior to his death, he financially blackmailed several members of the club. While this creates an official motive, it also leads ACP Singh to a plethora of suspects rich with suspicious activity.
The lavish setting of the movie is highlighted during the opening scene. Each future murder suspect is introduced during a luxurious club party by a flashy name card. However, this occurs in such a short timeframe that it gave me whiplash. This, along with the fact that there are well over ten suspects, made me feel overwhelmed by the amount of characters I had to memorize and take note of.
Despite the vast amount of characters, they’re definitely a highlight of this movie. Through the dramatics of Shehnaz Noorani, the cockiness of Ranvijay Singh, and the tipsiness of Cookie Katoch, ACP Singh keeps all of the suspects grounded with his unusual methods of interrogation. Their wealthy backgrounds were particularly entertaining to me; I seem to have a guilty pleasure for “rich people movies” such as Crazy Rich Asians because it sheds light on a social class I never get to witness in real life.
At this point, I’m convinced that there’s no one to rival Pankaj Tripathi in comedic timing. His role in Murder Mubarak is literally the definition of iconic 💯 pic.twitter.com/kok3z5aOba
— Aaraynsh (@aaraynsh) March 21, 2024
The movie’s dialogue is primarily in Hindi, but they also mixed in some English phrases. This makes both the original Hindi audio and its English counterpart exceptional ways to watch the movie, so you can dive in without worrying about the film’s authenticity being ruined.
The soundtrack is short and sweet. The filmmakers utilized a certain tune to symbolize when new information has been uncovered, making my ears perk up whenever it played. They even canonically implement a song that Mathews plays whenever he’s about to commit blackmail. While it’s a relatively small detail, it goes to show the attention put into this film.
Despite these highlights, the complexity of the murder itself is easily the film’s largest flaw. Not only are there over ten suspects to consider, but there are also subplots of infidelity, drugs, disappearing acts, and more. It was incredibly hard to keep track of each character, their relationships, and how they potentially connect to the larger murder; I felt the urge to grab a ball of red yarn, thumbtacks, and a giant bulletin board to sort out my thoughts—but perhaps that was the film’s goal.
All movies have 1 climax but Murder Mubarak has 2 and the 2nd one had me shook 😂 pic.twitter.com/AZELBKCibs
— Nakshatra (@ghalibkakhayal) March 19, 2024
Additionally, the love story between recently widowed Bambi Todi and distant Aakash Dogra feels like an unnecessary subplot for most of the movie. While it was exciting to watch their journey unfold because of the thick tension, their scenes were sandwiched between important pieces of evidence. It isn’t until you realize that they’re attempting to solve the murder alongside ACP Singh—and a major plot event—that their relationship finally makes sense.
But the movie’s ending is worth the headaches. I can’t recall the last time I was left in full shock as the credits rolled. The movie is able to create red herring after red herring to throw the audience off their paths, only to slip in the murderer’s reveal during the last five minutes. Maybe if you’re a murder mystery expert, you won’t be fooled like I was, but I was certainly left speechless.
The plot twist in Murder Mubarak hit me harder than a truck. Really makes you wonder if people are what they seem to be 🥺 pic.twitter.com/HrTbWYd24q
— Sagar Budhwani (@Sagarbudhwani_) March 21, 2024
The best way to describe “Murder Mubarak” is a beautiful mess. I hate to participate in stereotypes, but I went into this movie not expecting much more than cringe scenes and hyper-exaggerated acting due to its Indian background. However, I found myself muttering, “Thank goodness I chose this movie to review!” throughout the movie because its quality truly exceeded my expectations.
