Aahana Swrup
Homi Adajania’s murder mystery film, ‘Murder Mubarak,’ follows the peculiar case of a death that unfolds in The Royal Delhi Club, an exclusive establishment with only society’s most elite earning memberships. Therefore, after the resident trainer ends up dead in the gym, with the scene pointing toward a murder case, ACP Bhavani Singh arrives on the scene for an investigation. Once the police officer realizes that every member seems to have their own secrets to keep, he begins unraveling each thread that leads to the mystery at the club’s center.
The film unfolds at The Royal Delhi Club— with the establishment’s social environment escorting the viewers to a different reality of clandestine gossip and backstabbing slander. As such, the club itself remains an intrinsic character within the narrative. Consequently, given the fascinating depiction of such a club, one can’t help but wonder about its roots in reality.
The Royal Delhi Club: Inspired By Elite Delhi Clubs
Although The Royal Delhi Club is not based on an actual club, it holds some inspiration in real life. The film ‘Murder Mubarak,’ which features the Royal Delhi Club, is a film adaptation of Anuja Chauhan’s 2021 whodunnit, ‘Club You To Death,’ an Indian fiction novel that charts the adventures of ACP Bhavani Singh. In translating the story from its literary medium to the screen, the film equips some creative liberty and applies changes as necessary.
Therefore, a few plot points convert differently in the film, while the core ideas remain the same. As such, Chauhan’s Delhi Turf Club became the Royal Delhi Club, different in name but much too similar in concept. In many ways, Chauhan built her story around the club, which promised to be a convenient setting for exploring her idea’s themes and narratives.
“The task was to capture life as authentically as possible, and all the issues mentioned [in the book] are those that prominent clubs face,” Chauhan shared in a conversation with First Post. “The cast of members is the sort one would find in a posh club in any city – a mix of military people, bureaucrats, and the business community. Including them was essential and fun, too, because it gave me a meaty roster of suspects to work with!”
Thus, Chauhan based the club’s outline on her own experiences as someone who grew up surrounded by the club life due to her army kid lifestyle. Consequently, the club within the author’s story retains authenticity in terms of its depiction of inner dynamics within such establishments. Consequently, the film’s adaptation of the Delhi Turf Club, under the renamed banner The Royal Delhi Club, retains similar real-life authenticity.
If one looks at real life, clubs like Delhi Gymkhana Club and the National Sports Club of India— two of the most elite clubs in the city— provide some contextual resemblance. Both establishments carry the same exclusivity as the film’s RDC, with Gymkhana sharing the latter’s pre-independence details. Nevertheless, neither club is a close blueprint for The Royal Delhi Club, rendering it a complete work of fiction.
Read More: Murder Mubarak Ending, Explained
