Film Review: Ohh My Dog Is an Uplifting Love Story Between Humans and Their Best Friend, a Dog

It’s a canine carnival. The versatile writer-filmmaker, Amit Rai, who gave us Road to Sangam in 2010, I-Pad in 2015 and above all, the super successful OMG 2 in 2022, treks into another terrain—love between humans and canines—with equal felicity. Ohh My Dog, the title, is a spin-off on Oh My God. 

Two sagas, both on human-canine bonds, run concurrently without intersection. In Assam, Apu (Maahi Rai) is fooling around with his dog, Momo (Oscar), who runs outside their home to catch a ball and disappears. Apu and his mother (Geeta Agarwal Sharma) reach the police station, and the inspector (Vijay Vidyadhar Mishra) secretly reveals to Apu’s mother that dogs are being smuggled outside the district to be sold as dog meat. 

Apu senses something grievously wrong when he sees posters of multiple missing dogs in the police station and joins forces with his tuition teacher, Krishna (Sulyakhyna Baruah) to find the dog, using his uniquely-developed mastery in the digital area. Apu’s mother has no recourse other than praying to God for Momo’s safety.

In Bihar, a poor young man named Prince (Nikhil Kumar) also goes missing. A flourishing kidney racket is going on in the city and the main daroga (police inspector, played by Rajesh Kumar) makes light of this, stating that Prince must have run away somewhere, as he and his core team are in cahoots with the racketeers and earn from them. Prince’s family is desolate and desperate. His friends approach the local teacher (Pankaj Tripathi) for help. But meanwhile, his dog Oscar (Bruno) senses that something wrong has happened to his master and he decides to follow his scent and trace him!

A heartfelt and heartwarming saga, Ohh My Dog not only fits into the rare category of such films in Hindi cinema but essentially scores above melodramas like Teri Meherbaniyaan (1985). In fact, given its Walt Disney-like tenor and storyline, I would term it next only to Haathi Mere Saathi (1971), and this film is essentially contemporary as even the blockbuster had melodramatic touches.

This time, Rai brings in digital expertise on the one hand, and believable real-life characters on the other. As for the dogs, he admirably steers clear of computer graphics or AI and sticks to real animals. The minor role of Momo is played by Rai’s family dog Oscar, while Oscar is essayed by the immensely well-trained canine, Bruno.

The second half sees the entry of honest but stubborn cop, Akaljeet Sodhi (Pawan Malhotra), who is related to Krishna. Sodhi is taken into confidence when Apu realizes that his town’s police force is also hand-in-glove with the dog smugglers. Two situations stand out in the film—the way Oscar summons fellow canines to scare the villains and finally rescues Prince in the nick of time, and the sequence at the Assam border where Sodhi finally gets his hands on the rogues, finally outwitting the corrupt cops, and a multitude of dogs are rescued.

Maahi Rai, as Apu, is the filmmaker’s son and is superb as the extra-savvy digital champ, whose whole world revolves around his missing dog. His best scenes are in the police car as he keeps squabbling with an obdurate Sodhi. Pawan Malhotra, a Rai favorite, is a delight. Geeta Agarwal Sharma is the picture of maternal affection and her concern for Momo is also fabulously displayed. Sulyakhyna Baruah as Krishna is wonderful. The two cops who essay the blackguards are excellent too, especially Vijay Vidyadhar Mishra as the cop from Assam.

The direction never loses focus, and one can overlook the rare ‘filmi’ touch, like the chase in the sands, and the writing (and editing by Suvir Nath) sharp and to the point. The technical side is good, with Mangesh Dhakde’s background score being an innovative highlight of a film that becomes, finally, a racy adventure thriller. From the songs, Aman Pant’s Suno na is a rare melody that lingers.

Don’t miss this one. Take your kids—or anyone, including yourself, if you are still a child at heart. For dog lovers, this is a treat, though the susceptible among them, will need to carry tissues to tide over the moving sequences. But thankfully, in true Disney tradition, there is neither any tragic happening nor any violence. 

Rating: ****

Babulal Bioscope’s & Thinking Hearts Entertainment’s Ohh My Dog Produced by: Rajesh Bhardwaj, Amit Rai & Sana Warsi Directed & written by Amit Rai Music: Aman Pant Starring: Maahi Rai, Pankaj Tripathi, Geeta Agarwal Sharma, Pawan Malhotra, Rajesh Kumar, Vijay Vidyadhar Mishra, Sulakhyana Baruah, Nikhil Kumar & others with Dog Oscar, Dog Bruno & 250 others

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