Watching the debut feature from Pratul Gaikwad, Dead Dead Full Dead, it feels like a Knives Out story that’s completely unmoored from reality. A murder mystery fully unconcerned with remaining tethered to social, physical, or narrative norms, it presents an impossibly fresh take on the whodunnit – what if they all dunnit?
Zubi (Monica Chaudhary) and Ballu (Yug Italiya) are partners in more than one sense of the word. Romantically involved but also coworkers on the police force, they’re a sweet couple but make terrible investigators. Clumsy, constantly tampering with evidence, Zubi and Ballu have it all. It all starts when the bumbling pair lose track of their boss Mr Patil (Abhijeet Chavan)’s new pet goat Michael, causing it to be hit by a car and…turning into a stuffed animal?
Zubi and Ballu are then put on the case of the murder of Era (Swastika Mukherjee), amateur astrologer and professional influencer. Husband Rahul (Ashwin Mushran) is the immediate suspect, but sinister butler Chotu (Sachin Vidrohi) and meddling neighbor Mrs Bachhan (Flora Jacob) are also very much in the mix. Adding to the confusion is that Era herself, or at least her spirit, is part of the proceedings as well and walks us through scenarios where each and every suspect is depicted committing the murder with their own methods and motives. Further adding to the chaos is that our scattered detectives (and eventually their boss) are invited into these flashbacks to participate and meddle with the outcome.
An editor at heart, Gaikwad slickly places all the players around Era and Rahul’s palatial home. He also interweaves reality and hypothetical and dream scenarios into the narrative that layer context into nearly every scene. It has the vibes of a less serious Coen Brothers movie, like Burn After Reading, with perhaps a little less polish as it’s not always clear when we’re watching something real or imagined. Gaikwad expertly marshals his cast though, each of whom have tremendous chemistry with one another and connect just as well to me.
For a first feature, Dead Dead Full Dead feels incredibly ambitious and fully embraces the maximalist filmmaking mindset. It’s maybe a little too long, but when a murder mystery starts extending into space, starting to border on cosmic horror while also struggling with class division and whatever the hell is going on with Andrew the goat, I can’t be mad at even it’s hiccups. It’s a great concept executed well where there’s not a dull moment in it’s runtime.
Pratul Gaikwad’s Dead Dead Full Dead  made it’s Canadian Premiere at the Fantasia Festival on July 28. For all our Fantasia coverage, watch this space!
