Stutee Ghosh

Ritwik Pareek’s wicked satire Dug Dug premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival this year as part of the Discovery section. An audacious new voice, his debut feature casts a critical look at how superstition and blind faith provide a fertile breeding ground for religious cults and idolatry to grow unchecked. Set in Rajasthan, it’s well into 10 minutes that we trail an unnamed man as he rides his motorcycle on a busy highway, with trucks and cars speeding past him. The ominous background score creates anticipation and there is a strong hint that something is about to happen. And it does. A terrible freak accident takes place, where the man lies dead in a pool of blood.