A lost bike, a found belief system. The trailer of debutant filmmaker Ritwik Pareek’s Dug Dug was unveiled on Sunday. Set in a village, the film, a comedy-mystery satire, revolves around a bike whose owner passes away and people start believing it houses its spirit and grants wishes. Dug Dug has been presented by acclaimed directors like Anurag Kashyap, Nikkhil Advani, Vikramaditya Motwane and Vasan Bala.
“God only knows what games he plays,” opens the trailer of Dug Dug, as a character recounts the death of a villager—setting the tone for what follows. The mystery deepens when the bike the man was riding goes missing from a police station, only to reappear at the exact spot where he died.
Inspired by true events, Dug Dug traces a bizarre phenomenon in a village where a deceased man’s motorbike is believed to grant wishes—provided devotees pray to it and offer alcohol. As word spreads and prayers begin to be “answered,” belief spirals into a full-blown, commercialised religion.
The film stars Altaf Khan, Gaurav Soni, Yogendra Singh and Durga Lal Saini.
Following its premiere at TIFF, Dug Dug screened at several international festivals, including the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, MAMI Mumbai Film Festival, and the International Film Festival of Kerala.
The trailer establishes the film’s whimsical, magical tone, unfolding through trippy, fantastical visuals shot by DOP Aditya S. Kumar, which complement Ritwik Pareek’s script. The film is slated to hit Indian screens on May 8.
It is produced by Bottle Rocket Pictures, led by Prerna Pareek and Ritwik Pareek, and will be released in Indian theatres in association with Ranjan Singh’s Flip Films.
