No human was hurt in the making of this film, says Amit Rai as he explains the unique selling point of his recent film Ohh My Dog with tongue firmly in cheek. The title is a play on the writer-director’s last title, Oh My God 2, his first commercial and critical success after years of struggle following the National Award-winning Road To Sangam. The inspiration, Amit says, was the dog at home whom he calls Oscar. “You live under the impression that you have rescued a dog, brought him home, and you are feeding him. Within a month, my ego gave way, and I realised that it was not me; it was the dog that was cradling me. If someone asks me if I have to save one person in life, I will save Oscar without blinking an eye.”

A dog, he says, absorbs your loneliness and gives you unconditional love, but it cannot be explained to someone who does not have a pet. “It is like we say that a child gives birth to a mother. You will understand what a dog does to you only when you bring one into your life. That’s why I suggest that those who have a pet watch the film, but those who haven’t must definitely watch it.”

Coming at a time when the fate of stray dogs is being debated in courtrooms and resident welfare associations, the film, Amit says, draws from the famous Mahabharata story in which Yudhishthir insists that he would enter the gate of heaven only with his dog. “Dharamraj says the dog has followed his duty; he will fulfil his. The dog stayed with him when his near and dear ones left him one by one. Yudhishthir’s righteousness helps the canine cross over.”

Amit says the system works according to its own wisdom, “but we can’t let our compassion die.” He asks: if the human population rises beyond control tomorrow, will we take the same measures? “Are we going to cull humans? If you are not being compassionate towards dogs today, I guarantee you will not show mercy towards humans in the future. We have to find a solution. We can’t be ruthless.” This problem, he adds, hasn’t come overnight. “During dark nights when community dogs kept thieves out, we didn’t complain. I don’t know when the dog became a symbol of abuse in our vocabulary. But we do know that life is about coexistence. An ant has as much right on this land as I have. There is no permanent resident here. The one who has made this has finely woven it as a garland. If we pull out one pearl, the entire system will collapse. Once upon a time, the same argument was given when we killed tigers.”

On the role of dog feeders, Amit says no one knows the pains a filmmaker endures to complete a film; similarly, not many know the effort one puts into caring for stray dogs. “We can see their intent; the process can be debated upon. Nobody appoints those who are speaking in favour of dogs. They are speaking out of their own volition.”

Amit says the subject had been with him for a long time, and that it was fast-tracked when yet another of his projects fell through just days before going into production because of creative differences with the lead actor, Rani Mukerji. “I came to Mumbai in bathroom slippers. After struggling for many years, if the ecosystem is not letting us flow with the tide, let it be. We will flow against it,” says the filmmaker whose film I-pad never saw the light of the day when Akshay Kumar decided to play Padman.

“People say I have scaled down, but for me, Ohh My Dog is a big film, and I haven’t cut corners even if it meant co-producing it.” Shot in Assam and Bihar, the film has a crucial scene where over 200 dogs are shown chasing ambulances. “These are untrained dogs. With the help of an NGO that uses an ambulance to feed stray dogs, we followed a process for several days to create the cinematic impact.” For the trailer, he has used the popular Amitabh Bachchan number, ‘Mere Paas Aao Mere Dosto Ek Kissa Suno’ from Mr Natwarlal to evoke curiosity about the story. “I didn’t have the budget to cast Amitabh Bachchan, so the next best thing is to use his voice. Sa Re Ga Ma liked the intent and waived off the exorbitant charges for using the song.”

Filled with love, imagination, passion and loyalty, Amit says, on the one side there is a boy who does everything to save his dog, and on the other there is a dog who puts its life on the line to save his master.

It reminds one of the Jackie Shroff-starrer Teri Meharbaniyan (1985) that the Doordarshan generation grew up watching. “It takes the conversation forward, but I must say meharbani (kindness) is the right word for a dog’s role in our life. They ask, ‘we never gave up on you; now it is your turn’,” says the filmmaker whose son Mahi plays the lead role of the child in search of his dog, Momo, played by Oscar, along with seasoned actors Pawan Malhotra and Pankaj Tripathi. The star of the film is Bruno, an indigenous dog whom Amit borrowed from a friendly neighbour. “In the last 10 years, we hardly have any meaningful children’s films. If we don’t sow the seeds, we can’t expect a good harvest. If films are not made for children, how will they appreciate cinema, how will they imbibe values they must uphold?”

Talking of children and values, recent protests in Delhi have put them under the scanner. “Right or wrong, young students should not have been beaten up. The role of elders is to explain and engage. Use of force will scar them for life. Every time they have to face the system, they will not approach it with faith.”

Ohh My Dog* is currently running in theatres. *

Published - July 31, 2026 04:44 pm IST