BENGALURU: Whether set against the backdrop of a quaint village or the bustling streets of a metropolis, the allure of a whodunnit lies in its ability to challenge perceptions and leave audiences to do some thinking. Bengaluru-based Anuja Chauhan’s book Club You to Death, a murder mystery set in an elite Delhi club, is one such whodunnit. Now, the classic mystery has been adapted for OTT as Murder Mubarak. Starring names like Pankaj Tripathi, Karisma Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia, and Sara Ali Khan, the film will release next month. “Homi [Adajania] has brought the club culture alive so vividly – they shot in Delhi, at a Lutyens-era star hotel – and it looks perfect. Then there are the characters, who are a motley bunch, but they’ve been cast and directed so well,” says Chauhan.
Being her first whodunnit which released in 2021, her inspiration behind the crime fiction came from a ‘question of not if, but when’. “I’ve always loved whodunnits, which are also always a whydunnit. The psychological delving into the minds of characters gets me excited. With five rom-coms under my belt, I was feeling the need for a change in flavour, and honestly, being cooped up at home during the lockdown made me want to murder people,” she says quite candidly.
Talking about the screenplay, Chauhan says, “Suprotim Sengupta and Gazal Dhaliwal shared the screenplay and asked for my feedback. Then Maddock Films (Sharada Karki and Dinesh Vijan) invited me to see the film last October. It was Work in Progress back then.”
While the transition from book to film necessitated condensing the story, Chauhan insists that the essence of the book remains intact. “Suprotim, Gazal, and Homi have added some wicked touches to the screenplay, which are different from the book, so even people who’ve read it will still find it enjoyable,” she shares.
The plot, set on the premises of Delhi Turf Club, which is soon to hold an election for its President, is thrown into disarray with the discovery of a body. As a range of suspects is introduced, ACP Bhavani Singh is assigned to the case to solve the mystery. The casting of Tripathi as the mild-mannered ACP has created the most buzz amongst fans.
“He’s such a fine actor, and so many readers have written to me saying that when they read the book, they imagined him as ACP Bhavani. So I think my readers pretty much manifested the casting,” shares Chauhan, adding, “I’m hoping the most fulfilling part of this experience is yet to come! Which is that people love ACP Bhavani, the homely old UP wallah policeman with a sympathetic ear - and that I can keep writing about him and his wife Shalini for a long time to come. Shalini didn’t make it to the film and that broke my heart a little.”
There’s much to look forward to for Chauhan whose other novel Baaz – set against the backdrop of the Bangladesh War of 1971 – has been bought by Dharma Productions. “Baaz needs a fresh young casting. He [Ishaan Faujdar] is 24 years old and it’s essential for him to have that quality of being heart-breakingly young.”