Anuja Chauhan's books are a riot. Be it the delightful 'Those Pricey Thakur Girls' or 'Club You To Death', released in 2021, which I found to be even better. This is precisely why I was eagerly awaiting 'Murder Mubarak', the movie adaptation of Chauhan's murder-in-an-elite-Delhi-club story. But somehow, Chauhan's novels have never translated well onto the screen — remember how flat 'The Zoya Factor' was, as a movie? This one, directed by Homi Adajania (of 'Cocktail' and 'Finding Fanny' fame) is slightly better but still lacks that fizz and chutzpah one expects from a Chauhan pageturner.
In short, a dishy Zumba instructor Leo (Aashim Gulati) is murdered in a gym in a posh club frequented by rich Delhites — most of whom live in a make-believe world of their own, and are as inane as they come. The "aunty.coms", whose raison d'etre to hit the gym is the instructor, can't stop themselves from drooling over him even as he is lying dead underneath his barbells. The men are either toxic, boring junkies or plain nasty. Amidst these glorious people are the I-am-my-own-person Bambi Todi (Sara Ali Khan) and the do-gooder lawyer Akash Dogra (Vijay Varma), childhood sweethearts playing detective. They are helping ACP Bhavani Singh (a competent Pankaj Tripathi) and his sub-inspector Padam (Priyank Tiwari) who have 10 days to find the murderer and prevent the shutting down of the club.
Of course, in typical Agatha Christie fashion, there's another murder near the interval and a denouement in the Bhavani deadpan style at the end. But the screenplay is halting and unfunny. There is no tension, neither is there too much drama — which is a pity since the novel had both in ample measure. Watch if you haven't read the book — it might then hold your interest. Somewhat.
Published 16 March 2024, 02:42 IST