Film Review: Murder Mubarak [Murder Congratulations]

Starring: Pankaj Tripathi, Sara Ali Khan, Vijay Varma, Karisma Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia, Tisca Chopra, Sanjay Kapoor, Aashim Gulati

Director: Homi Adajania

Can murder be something to celebrate? Well, this darkly comic Netflix thriller packed to the brim with talented Bollywood actors certainly thinks so.

Police officer Bhawani Singh (Tripathi) is all set for his new posting out of the hustle-bustle of Delhi and is counting down the days when he can join his wife as he ties up the loose ends in his current job. His boss’ call to rush to a posh club, a living relic of the British Raj, to investigate a death could not have come at a more inopportune time.

With 10 days to go before he must pack up and leave, that becomes Bhawani Singh’s deadline to decipher who among the spoilt rich brats is behind what he concludes is most certainly a murder, rather than an accidental death. His list of suspects is long: a show-off ex-royal Ranvijay Singh (Sanjay Kapoor), a yesteryears’ popular actress Shehnaz Noorani (Karisma Kapoor), bitchy socialites Cookie Katoch (Kapadia) and Roshni Batra (Chopra) or indeed the two former lovers Aakash Dogra (Varma) and Bambi Todi (Khan) who are just a little too determined to “help” him with his investigation.

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What starts out as a fairly simple case soon tangles itself into a complex web of intrigue, with each suspect offering up their own set of motives for the murder of hunky gym instructor Leo Matthews (Gulati), who turns out to be less than an innocent victim.

Will Bhawani Singh crack the mystery and nab the killer before his transfer deadline or will more murders on his watch keep complicating matters at every turn?

There’s a very discernible flavour of the popular Hollywood ‘Knives Out’ series to this desi mystery thriller, which packs in a similar set of twists and turns to keep the audience guessing all the way. Anyone able to guess the killer before the delightful finale deserves special marks, though the real joy of the screenplay lies in the journey towards the climax.

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Pankaj Tripathi excels in his role as the disarmingly friendly cop, who hides his ruthlessness behind a veneer of charm and affability. He is well supported by the ensemble cast, which together help deliver a very enjoyable crime caper.

The satirical touches that spotlight the ridiculously out of touch lives of the super-rich are an added bonus that make solving this murder mystery a very enjoyable ride.