Murder Mubarak Review {2.5/5} & Review Rating
Star Cast: Pankaj Tripathi, Sara Ali Khan, Karisma Kapoor, Vijay Varma, Dimple Kapadia, Sanjay Kapoor, Tisca Chopra
Director: Homi Adajania
Murder Mubarak Movie Synopsis:
MURDER MUBARAK is the story of a cop and a bunch of suspects. A Tambola night is organized at the Delhi Royal Club, which is attended by its prominent members – Bambi Todi (Sara Ali Khan), Shehnaz Noorani (Karisma Kapoor), Rannvijay Singh (Sanjay Kapoor), Akash Dogra (Vijay Varma), Yash Batra (Suhail Nayyar), Yash's mother Roshni Batra (Tisca Chopra), Akash's father Balbir (Purnendu Bhattacharya), Akash's mother Mala (Grusha Kapoor), Akash's grandmother (Padmini Sardesai), the club's president Devendra Bhatti (Deven Bhojani) and the club zumba trainer Leo Matthews (Aashim Gulati). There's tension between Shehnaz and Rannvijay as both have stood in the club elections. The next day, Bambi, Roshni and Cookie Katoch (Dimple Kapadia), head to the club gym where they find Leo's dead body. ACP Bhavani Singh (Pankaj Tripathi) and Inspector Padam Kumar (Priyank Tiwari) are assigned the case. Devendra tries to pass off the death as a case of accident, to save the club's reputation. But Bhavani realizes that Leo was murdered and that all the club members had a reason to eliminate him. What happens next forms the rest of the film.
Murder Mubarak Movie Story Review:
MURDER MUBARAK is based on the book 'Club You To Death' by Anuja Chauhan. Gazal Dhaliwal and Suprotim Sengupta's adapted story has all the trappings of an engaging whodunit. Gazal Dhaliwal and Suprotim Sengupta's screenplay is breezy and light. A few moments stand out but at the same time, it’s not as exciting as intended. Gazal Dhaliwal and Suprotim Sengupta's dialogues are conversational and the ones mouthed by Pankaj Tripathi stand out.
Homi Adajania's direction is okay. He adopts a simplified yet stylish approach and keeps one hooked. He shows his brilliance in the beginning when one is made to believe that the murder took place on the night of the Tambola. The beginning scenes and introduction of characters are also unique. He also succeeds in making the finale unpredictable; it’ll be difficult until a certain point to guess who is the murderer.
On the flipside, the film seems too long even though the runtime is just 141 minutes. A few motives of the suspects are not convincing. In fact, the casting of certain characters would make one believe that they have a crucial part in the film. But they don’t. Also, after an impressive beginning, the narrative goes downhill. Some of the developments are unexciting. A lot of murder mysteries have been seen by the viewers recently and in that regard, the goings-on could have been more entertaining.
Murder Mubarak | Official Trailer | Pankaj Tripathi, Sara Ali Khan, Karisma Kapoor, Vijay Varma
Murder Mubarak Movie Performances:
MURDER MUBARAK belongs to Pankaj Tripathi. He steals the show as the cop who talks shuddh Hindi. Sara Ali Khan looks beautiful and delivers a first-rate performance. She’s especially superb in the second half. Vijay Varma performs with ease, as expected. Karisma Kapoor looks ravishing but sadly, she doesn’t have much to do in the film. The same applies to Dimple Kapadia. Sanjay Kapoor leaves a huge mark. His arc is intriguing but in the second half, he gets a raw deal. Tisca Chopra is impressive. Deven Bhojani is adorable and dominates the first 30 minutes. Suhail Nayyar, Aashim Gulati and Priyank Tiwari do well in supporting roles. Brijendra Kala (Guppie Ram) stands out and delivers a performance, which is different from his usual ones. Purnendu Bhattacharya, Grusha Kapoor, Padmini Sardesai, Amaara Sangam (Minu Dimri; waiter), Srikant Maski (Theju), Paalin Kabak (Thinsuk), Varun Mitra (Anshul) and Tara Alisha Berry (Ganga) are fair.
Murder Mubarak Movie music and other technical aspects:
Sachin-Jigar's music is well-woven into the film, be it the songs 'Yaad Aave' or 'Bhola Bhala Baby'. Sachin-Jigar's background score is in sync with the film’s quirky theme.
Linesh Desai's cinematography is functional. Bindiya Chhabria and Arvind Ashok Kumar's production design is appealing. Anaita Shroff Adajania's costumes are glamorous. Amritpal Singh's action is minimal. Akshara Prabhakar's editing could have been slicker.
Murder Mubarak Movie Conclusion:
On the whole, MURDER MUBARAK rests on the performances and unpredictable climax. But the slow narrative and unexciting moments hamper the impact to some extent.
