India
2023 110 mins
OV Hindi
Subtitles : English
Equally inept and scatterbrained, junior police officers Balraam and Zubeida make a cute couple, but not the most diligent detectives. Called to a posh apartment tower to investigate a reported murder, the seemingly straightforward case confronting the pair quickly becomes a conundrum that would confuse even Sherlock Holmes. The victim is kitschy astrology influencer Era, and the prime suspect is her businessman husband Rahul. But suspicion also falls on the bourgeois couple’s nosy neighbour, Mrs. Basanti, and their sinister household servant, Chhotu. When Era herself returns from the afterlife and starts meddling, matters become even more muddled, and soon enough the question isn’t who killed her... but who didn’t?!
With the deadpan delirium of his debut feature, the surreal whodunnit DEAD DEAD FULL DEAD, Mumbai-based editor and filmmaker Pratul Gaikwad offers a very odd, even otherworldly mutation of the much-loved mystery-comedy genre. Paranormal powers and multiple manias, cosmic wonders and covert class warfare, celestial bureaucracy and dysfunctional love, even a supernaturally transformed goat, DEAD DEAD FULL DEAD offers a bit of everything except perhaps proper law-enforcement procedure. Above all, it showcases a charming ensemble cast who capture the adorable idiocy of their characters perfectly. As a lunar eclipse approaches and Gaikwad’s witty weirdness progresses, the only certainty his kooky caper provides is a steady stream of giggles and guffaws. – Rupert Bottenberg