Murder Mubarak: A Toothless Whodunit That Fails To Capture The Spirit Of Anuja Chauhan’s Novel ‘Club You To Death’

Director Homi Adajania tries to mix humour with suspense but fails spectacularly. Also, too many characters add to the fatigue.
  • Main Cast: Sara Ali Khan, Karisma Kapoor, Vijay Varma, Dimple Kapadia, Tisca Chopra, Pankaj Tripathi, and Sanjay Kapoor
  • Director: Homi Adajania
  • Producer: Maddock Films
  • Music Director: Sachin-Jigar
  • Cinematography: Linesh Desai
  • Genre: Murder Mystery-Comedy
  • Rating: 2/5
  • Run Time: 2 Hours 21 minutes
  • Published in: Southfirst

Anuja Chauhan’s 2021 novel “Club You To Death” was much more than just a murder mystery. It was a book that looked at discrimination based on class. The novel was a social satire in many ways.

For those who haven’t read Anuja Chauhan’s work, the setting of the movie is the Royal Delhi Club, known for its lavish parties and high-profile guests.

A murder is committed on its premises and ACP Bhavani Singh (Pankaj Tripathi) is given the responsibility of unravelling the mystery.

Bhavani Singh’s character is modelled on British writer Agatha Christie’s hugely popular fictional detective Hercule Poirot.

Also, there is Karisma Kapoor as superstar Shehnaz Noorani.

The lives of these rich people are juxtaposed with the working class.

For example, there is a caretaker with dementia Guppie Ram (Brijendra Kala).

In simple terms, the story is about what led to the death of the Zumba instructor Leo Mathews (Ashim Gulati) along with the various secrets of the suspects.

Analysis

A still from ‘Murder Mubarak’. (X)

What makes Murder Mubarak somewhat tolerable is the basic storyline.

Sure, the narrative style is tedious but the suspense of who the murderer is keeps the viewers going.

Here, director Homi Adjania and the writers must be given credit.

The last 20 minutes of Bhavani Singh solving the case is interesting.

Among the sprawling cast, Pankaj Tripathi has the most fun. The dependable actor brings his charismatic charm and also gets some good lines.

For instance, in a scene, he says “Aaj kal anti-national banne ke liye zyada patishram nahi karna padta hai (These days, it is quite easy to be labelled anti-national).

A big problem with Murder Mubarak is the overindulgence of Homi Adajania. This can be seen in how the director overstretches the narrative.

Most characters have also been poorly etched; a case in point is Vijay Varma and Dimple Kapadia.

In the second half, there is a badly placed love story between Sara Ali Khan and Vijay Varma while they are doing their parallel investigation.

The writing and the chemistry between the actors are weak.

Sara Ali Khan has one important scene in a crucial flashback towards the end. But the actor messes that scene up with her overacting. As a result, the viewers do not feel the emotional turmoil of her role.

Final take

Despite its engaging subject and an interesting set of actors, Murder Mubarak is a major misfire.

Merry Christmas:  A Concoction Of Darlings And Andhadhun

Sriram Raghavan’s latest doesn’t hit the high notes of his previous films but still this is an intriguing thriller

Rating 3
Starcast: Vijay Sethupathi, Katrina Kaif, Sanjay Kapoor, Ashwini Kaleskar, Vinay Pathak and others
Director and writer: Sriram Raghavan
Additional writers: Arjit Biswas, Pooja Ladha Suruti and Anukruti Pandey
Based on: Le Monte Charge by Federic Dard
Producers: Ramesh Taurani, Jaya Taurani, Sanjay Routray and Kewal Garg
Production Companies: Tips Films and Matchbox Pictures
Genre: Thriller/drama
Running time: 2 hours and 25 minutes

Sriram Raghavan has established his credits as a thriller specialist starting from his debut film Ek Hasina Thi starring Saif Ali Khan and Urmila Matondkar. Except for Agent Vinod also starring Saif Ali Khan the director has created some delicious characters and has done an excellent job in capturing the dark nature of human beings. Additionally Sriram is also known for casting actors against the type. The perfect examples of these are Varun Dhawan in Badlapur and Ayushmann Khurrana in Andhadhun.

Katrina, Vijay Sethupathi and Sriram Raghavan, the director.

The director has continued his penchant for unusual casting with Merry Christmas. Not many directors would have thought of casting Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi together in a movie. This unique casting has created anticipation for the film. For those who are not aware Merry Christmas is based on a French novel Le-Monte- Charge.

Merry Christmas starts off as a date movie between two strangers. Katrina Kaif is Maria and Vijay Sethupathi is Albert. Both of them meet on Christmas Eve and end up forming a certain connection in a short span of time. Maria is stuck in a turbulent marriage much like Alia Bhatt’s Badru in Darlings. Vijay Sethupathi’s Albert has returned to the city of Bombay after a long gap. Here it has to be mentioned that the story takes place in the 90’s before Bombay had become Mumbai.

Sriram Raghavan’s dark christman with Katrina

Both Maria and Albert have some secrets which they are hiding from each other. As the story progresses the plot turns into a murder mystery when a dead body is found on the couch of Maria, what follows is a tale of deception, death and darkness.

A big strength of Merry Christmas is the recreation of the 90’s Bombay. The viewers feel a certain sense of nostalgia. Like Johnny Gaddaar and Andhadhun there is a certain retro touch which adds to the story.

The casting of Vijay Sethupathi and Katrina Kaif has raised many eyebrows given the huge discrepancy in terms of the acting capabilities. But it has to be said they do feed off each other. Katrina Kaif’s acting does fall a little short in a key emotional sequence related to her husband however it has to be said that overall she has given a proficient performance.  Katrina has done a good job in conveying the different emotions through her body language particularly the portions where Maria has to come across as alluring. Additionally her character has also been designed well going from a gorgeous and vulnerable single mom to a hurt and revengeful wife.

All on one leaf

Vijay Sethupathi on the other hand is as brilliant as ever. He portrays the different emotions of grief, pain and others in his trademark style. The actor also leaves you in splits with the one liners.

The supporting cast comprising of Sanjay Kapoor, Vinay Pathak, Ashwini Kalsekar and others also do a good job in maintaining the mystery with their impactful performances. However it has to be said the supporting characters in Badlapur and Andhadhun had a bigger impact.

Talking about twists and turns some of twists have the trademark Sriram Raghavan touch but they are not entirely satisfactory. The climax in particular is a low point. It has not got the thrill and the heft of the last scene in Andhadhun where many people had come up with different theories.

Merry Christmas does not entirely live up to the standards that Sriram Raghavan has set but for Katrina Kaif this film is a new start. Here’s hoping the actress continues to take on challenging roles like this.

Bloody Daddy: Shahid Kapoor Comes Out All Guns Blazing In This Pulpy Action Thriller

Beneath all the action and thrills, the film has a relatable emotional angle — the father-son dynamic that has come out well.

Provides enough adrenaline rush!
Bloody Daddy (Hindi)
  • Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Ronit Roy, Sanjay Kapoor, and Diana Penty
  • Director: Ali Abbas Zafar
  • Producer: Jyoti Deshpande, Gaurav Bose, and Ali Abbas Zafar
  • Music: Badshah, Aditya Dev and Anuj Garg
  • Runtime: 2 hours 5 minutes
  • OTT platform: Jio Cinema

Ali Abbas Zafar’s Bloody Daddy opens with information on the country slowly getting back to its feet post the second wave of COVID-19 lockdown.

More than the story, it is the racy screenplay that makes Bloody Daddy enjoyable particularly if you are an action junkie.

Synopsis

The setting of Bloody Daddy is the milieu of North India.

In the very first scene, we see Sumair (Shahid Kapoor) and his colleague (Zeishan Quadri of Gangs of Wasseypur fame) racing down the streets of Connaught Place in pursuit of another car.

Soon enough, they manage to catch up with the car and have a fight with two men. They get their hands on cocaine worth ₹50 crore.

This action sequence sets the tone for the rest of the film. Here, it has to be mentioned that Sumair is an NCB officer but not the traditional mainstream cop, as he is not catching the criminal but robbing the cocaine.

In short, he is a dubious cop, and as viewers, we don’t understand whether he is on the right side of the law or the wrong side till the end.

Sikander (Ronit Roy) plays a drug lord-cum-hotelier. He comes to know that Sumair has beaten up his men and is in possession of his cocaine. He abducts Sumair’s son Athrav.

Crux of Bloody Daddy

The one-line story is about how Sumair manages to get back his son. But what makes this drama interesting is the various subplots that director Ali Abbas Zafar integrates.

For example, you have another drug dealer Hamid (Sanjay Kapoor), and two anti-corruption officials, Aditi and Sameer (Diana Penty and Rajeev Khandelwal), who are also on the job.

Soon a cat-and-mouse chase starts, but there is much more than what meets the eye.

Parallel to this, Sumair has a messy relationship with his ex-wife Riya and son Athrav.

The biggest strength of Bloody Daddy is how Ali Abbas Zafar designed the character of Shahid Kapoor.

Sumair isn’t perfect by any means and on certain occasions, he also comes across as a selfish and irresponsible dad.

His moral compass also seems to be oscillating and this keeps the viewers guessing whether he is the good guy or the anti-hero till the very end.

Positive aspects

There is certain believability to the fight sequences that the director and his leading man bring to the table. Sumair’s scenes with his son Athrav are few in number, but they do make an impact.

A special mention must be made of the phone conversation when Sumair instils confidence in his son that he will come out safe.

Bloody Daddy has also some wonderful laugh-out-loud moments.

A good example of this is the hilarious interaction Sumair has with a Nepali cook in the hotel. Some of the other laugh-out-loud moments come from the interactions between Sikander and Hamid.

Beneath all the action and thrills, Bloody Daddy has a relatable emotional angle.

You have a father who eventually wants to make his son understand that he isn’t the irresponsible and indifferent dad that the boy assumes him to be. This has come out well.

What also makes Bloody Daddy even more intriguing is the characterisation of Rajeev Khandelwal. On the surface, he appears to be an honest tough cop but there is a solid twist to his character.

Ali Abbas Zafar also uses the background of COVID-19 smartly to make important points about the growing inflation and the crime rate.

Low points

The second half of Bloody Daddy feels a little stretched because of the long drawn-out cat-and-mouse game.

Diana Penty as the solo female official needed to be better etched. It looks more like an add-on to the story rather than being organic.

Performances

As Bloody Daddy, Shahid Kapoor exudes power and vulnerability in equal measure. He brings a palpable intensity which makes the viewers root for him.

Apart from the intense scenes, Shahid shines bright in the lighter ones, too.

The duo of Ronit Roy and Sanjay Kapoor are also in fine form, particularly Ronit Roy. Rajeev Khandelwal is another actor who makes a strong impression.

The cinematography by Marcin Laskaweic matches the vision of Ali Abbas Zafar. On more than one occasion, the viewers feel that this film should have been released on the big screen.

Final take

Bloody Daddy is a highly watchable action thriller that provides enough adrenaline rush.

(Views expressed are personal.)