Showing posts with label Ohh My Dog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ohh My Dog. Show all posts
(Crisp) Movie Review: OHH MY DOG by FENIL SETA
3:32 PM
Ohh My Dog looked interesting from the trailer, but the film turns out even better. Both parallel tracks are gripping and peppered with nail-biting and highly entertaining moments. The way the dog goes all out for the master is very endearing. Some scenes will lead to claps in cinemas for the four-legged hero. Director Amit Rai (who earlier made OMG 2) deserves brownie points for shooting extensively with a dog. It's no cakewalk. Yet, he doesn't compromise on execution or take shortcuts, which is truly a feat. On the flipside, at 150 minutes, the film is too long and should have been shorter by 20 minutes. A few songs are forced into the narrative. Also, until a certain point, the goings-on look believable. But later, both tracks become unrealistic. The human actors put their best foot forward, but it is the dog Bruno, who plays Oscar, who takes the cake with his cuteness and bravery. Child actor Mahi Rai also puts his best foot forward and delivers a confident performance. Pankaj Tripathi is adorable in a supporting part. Nikhil Kumar (Prince), Pavan Malhotra (RTO officer), Geeta Agarwal (Apu's mother), Vijay Mishra (Dibrugarh SHO) and Rajesh Kumar (Patna Daroga) are dependable. Sulakhyana Baruah (Krishna; Apu's teacher) is a great find. All in all, Ohh My Dog is the surprise of the season and a must-watch for kids and dog lovers.
My rating - *** ½ out of 5!
My rating - *** ½ out of 5!
Ohh My Dog: Pankaj Tripathi forgoes fee to support Amit Rai's directorial
4:43 PM
Komal RJ Panchal (MID-DAY; July 21, 2026)
Some films are worth far more than the paycheque they bring. For Pankaj Tripathi, Ohh My Dog is one such project. The actor did not charge a fee for the July 31 release, choosing instead to support the film because of his long friendship with director Amit Rai.
Tripathi told mid-day, “Ajay Rai, the producer, and Amit Rai are old friends of mine. Commercial films are made with the support of money, but for independent and small films where the story is important, who will support them if not actors like us?”
Ohh My Dog tells the story of a young girl who forms a special connection with a stray dog. When Amit first narrated the movie to Tripathi, the actor was overjoyed for two reasons — it was not only a heart-warming tale of unconditional love, but would also be shot in his home state.
“The story is set in Bihar. Amit asked me to shoot for four days, and I told him I would come for six. I also called my friends in Bihar and we supported the film in every way. Eventually, I stayed for seven days.”
Tripathi plays a teacher in the movie, which is led by child actor Maahi Rai and stars Pawan Malhotra and Rajesh Sharma. The actors form the supporting cast. That’s how it should be, asserted Tripathi. “The main story is about a dog and a child. We are all in supporting roles, but in reality, we are supporting the film itself.”
And it’s something he would gladly do again for Rai, with whom he collaborated on OMG 2 (2023). “That’s when we became friends. It remains one of the special movies in my filmography.”
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Onkar Kulkarni (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 24, 2026)
When filmmaker Amit Rai revealed that Pankaj Tripathi agreed to star in his upcoming film Ohh My Dog without charging a fee, it quickly became one of the most talked-about aspects of the project. For Pankaj, however, the decision had little to do with business and everything to do with friendship.
The actor, who shares a long-standing bond with Amit after working together on OMG 2, says there was never any discussion about remuneration before he came on board. “In friendship, you don’t ask all this. You just ask, ‘How many days of mine do you want?’ and I shot for those days. I only asked him to share the dates with me. I even told the director and the team, ‘Don’t include me in the promotions also,” he said.
Asked whether he is now at a stage in his career where he can afford to work without charging a fee, and he said, “I feel if this film works and makes business at the box office, then they will give me something in return. Let’s see.”
Pankaj is also looking ahead to another first in his career. Mirzapur, the series that made his portrayal of Kaleen Bhaiya a cultural phenomenon, is now being adapted into a feature film — the first Indian OTT franchise to make that transition.
Looking back, the actor says the possibility never crossed his mind while shooting the show. “I never thought, when I was doing Season 2, that a film would be made. There was no such concept that a web series would become a film. Mirzapur in India proved to be pathbreaking that way,” he signed off.
Character graph ke pehle business graph ki baat karte hai yahan-Amit Rai
10:52 AM
Onkar Kulkarni (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 17, 2026)
After OMG 2, filmmaker Amit Rai could have easily followed up with a bigger, star-led commercial film. Instead, he has returned with Ohh My Dog, a film led by a 12-year-old boy and an indie dog. Rai says, “The urge to tell that story is always the main reason to go forward, irrespective of whether it is a big or small budget film. Stars, studios and budgets are subservient to the story and not vice versa.”
He admits he could have mounted a larger commercial film after OMG 2. “I chose to tell this story because it came to me organically. I have a dog who is like my son, and I have been amazed by the love and loyalty he has. It was he who inspired this story.”
Rai is also unsparing in his assessment of where he believes the Hindi film industry is headed. “The problem with our industry is that we are not making films but mounting projects. There is something essentially wrong in the way we approach storytelling. Character graph ke pehle business graph ki baat karte hai yahan, scene construction se jyada PPT, pie charts aur territory par focus hai.”
He believes storytelling has taken a backseat. “Many of us have forgotten that film is essentially about story, characters, situations and human emotions. Film business is because of the story and not vice versa. Given the myopic approach of the decision-makers, the room for meaningful storytelling has shrunk. It is a rat race here. No one is eager to take risks with unique concepts. I am not a fan of formulas. I follow stories. I reinvent myself with every story — that is the only formula I follow.”
Drawing a comparison with regional cinema, Rai says audiences are rewarding originality over formula. “In the era of digital and content saturation, you cannot keep offering the same content. That is the reason Hindi films are losing relevance and business to regional films, who are offering cinematic experiences, right from Pushpa to Manjummel Boys, Dashavatar, Kantara and Mahavatar Narsimha.”
India has stopped making children's films-Amit Rai
2:43 PM
Upala KBR (MID-DAY; July 9, 2026)
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.”
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