ऊपर शेरवानी अंदर परेशानी

ऊपर शेरवानी अंदर परेशानी - my quick take on “murder Mubarak” (Netflix)

There nothing “Mubarak” about this movie. Maybe the makers would be in a “celebration” mode saying कैसे मामू बनाया murder mystery के नाम पर 😜. Its a classic case of ऊपर शेरवानी , अंदर परेशानी. Based on a book “Club you to Death” , director Homi Adajania tried giving this murder mystery an Agatha Christie touch but failed miserably.

Picture this: a tale of high society shenanigans at a posh club where the only thing getting clubbed is the audience over the head with boredom. Director Homi Adajania must have thought he was pulling off a cinematic magic trick by transforming “Club you to Death” into a masterpiece, but instead, it’s more like a case of pulling a rabbit out of a hat only to find a grumpy cat inside. (pun intended)

The suspects parade around like peacocks in a rich man’s zoo, with everyone from Dimple Kapadia, Karishma Kapoor, Tisca Chopra, Sanjay Kapoor, Vijay Verma to Sara Ali Khan trying to out-drama each other. And let’s not forget Pankaj Tripathi, the lone ranger trying to save this sinking ship with his Hercule Poirot impression. He’s the only reason you won’t be reaching for the remote to escape this snoozefest.

Setting up of the plot and introduction of each character is very tardy and meanders aimlessly, hence it not only drags the story but also slows the pace of plot. But alas, the plot meanders like a lost puppy, and those jump cuts? They’re like someone constantly changing the radio station—distracting and disorienting.

However the climax which is modeled like any of the Agata Christie plot wherein all the suspects are made to have a campfire talk and suspect is identified, this sequence is bit engaging, but alas it lasts in the dying moments of the movie. Secondly the suspect is ‘guessable’ in the beginning of the movie itself, hence it is difficult to keep oneself engrossed in the movie.

Homi Adajania is known for his stylized setting, i had enjoyed his सास बहू एंड फ़्लमिंगोस , here too the overall setting of the exclusive club is very rich and resplendant, however the richness in writing was missing.

If you decide to watch it on OTT then i wish you “Mubarak” , else invest your two and half hours somewhere else.