Director Amit Rai’s next, Ohh My Dog, was born from his love for dogs. And from a simple question: where are the kids’ films in Indian cinema? “In the last decade, a children’s film has not been made. Satyajit Ray did so much work for the children so that our culture survives. Our kids imbibe values from our works,” said the director.

Ohh My Dog explores the beautiful bond between humans and animals. It comes three years after Rai’s sleeper hit OMG 2 (2023), led by Akshay Kumar, Pankaj Tripathi, and Yami Gautam Dhar. Like he did with the 2023 film, the director prioritized the story over the cast in the Tripathi and Pavan Malhotra-starrer.

“After the success of OMG 2, I was asked to make a film on Shivaji Maharaj, but it didn’t [work out]. I thought it would be better to make a film on my own. I wanted to make a film where the focus is on the content, like OMG 2, which was made without any actor in mind. I wanted to tell a story about how a dog’s love is unconditional.”

Reuniting with Tripathi after OMG 2 was a joy for the director. Rai shared, “Pankaj ji has two dogs. He loved the story so much that he came on board, even though he had only eight days of work to do. A star of his stature has joined Ohh My Dog without looking at the length of his role.”