At a time when man’s best friend is caught between systemic neglect and empty sentimentality, writer-director Amit Rai eschews melodrama to craft an absorbing thriller with a moral spine. Somewhere in Assam, young Apu’s attention-seeking dog, Momo (Oscar) goes missing. The local policeman, who looks well-meaning, tells him and his mother that their pet would have become a delicacy by now. Around the same time, deep in Bihar, Prince, a young construction worker, goes missing. There too, the ‘helpful’ custodian of law shows little interest in following the missing boy’s footprints. But the tech-savvy Apu doesn’t give up hope, nor does Oscar (Bruno), Prince’s street friend. In different timelines, as they launch their search-and-rescue missions, we get an engrossing tale with a message ensconced deep within.

The twin tracks act as a vehicle to expose the terrifying realities of organ and dog trafficking networks across state borders and, along the way, tell us how vulnerable children and defenseless animals are frequently exploited by the underground networks that remain under the radar of a complicit system. As the committed footprints of Oscar match with the digital keystrokes of Apu, we realise the bond between humans and animals is as much about sharp intelligence as it is about heart.

Ohh My Dog (Hindi)

Director: Amit Rai

Duration: 150 minutes

Cast:Maahi Rai, Bruno, Pankaj Tripathi, Pawan Malhotra, Rajesh Kumar, Geeta Agarwal Sharma

Synopsis:When Apu loses his beloved canine Momo, he refuses to sit back and teams up with a kind-hearted educator to hunt down an animal-trafficking racket.

Known to translate harsh social truths into a mainstream lexicon, here Amit reminds us that desi dogs play a role in safeguarding our national interests as well. Beneath the emotional exterior lies a sharp social commentary which is tightly knit into the story. While most pet dramas lean heavily on a single canine hero, Amit scales the stakes up to an entire community, turning a desperate search for a missing friend into a powerful, 250-strong pack rebellion against exploitation.

The film positions children as a demographic capable of pure, unconditional empathy, but it also puts the spotlight on the role of a teacher in society without underlining it. Both Oscar and Apu are guided by local teachers, played by Pankaj Tripathi and Sulakhayana Baruah, through their crisis. Instead of driving the narrative and moving search sequences with modern urban beats, Amit, along with composer Mangesh Dhakde, lets the emotional weight of the story breathe with a culturally immersive background score and soundtrack, with pieces like Gayan Bayan and Chott Chott bringing alive the folk flavor of Assam.

As an ode to Satyajit Ray’s Apu, young Maahi Rai lives up to the promise as he excels as today’s wide-eyed, free-spirited child who stands up to the corrupt system and uses technology to find his dog. Geeta Agarwal Sharma as the deeply relatable mother, the honest presence of Pawan Malhotra as the Sikh enforcement officer in Assam, and the wily charm of Rajesh Kumar as the corrupt cop ensure that the dramatic tension doesn’t fall into the trap of an over-simplistic exercise. The driving force of the show is undoubtedly Bruno, captured without any layer of artificiality by cinematographer Máté Herbai. It doesn’t come across as a wonder dog but a creature or symbol of silent resilience.

Once Amit lays out the nuts and bolts of the narrative, we know how it will play out, but the race against time keeps providing little heart-tug moments. The tough part is seeing the proceedings from the point of view of a child without reducing it to naive simplification or cartoonish stakes. And Amit largely succeeds. Beyond the package of an innocent, family-friendly weekend watch, the film gradually works as a gentle but firm mirror, forcing the audience to confront their collective loss of basic human empathy. Between the lines, it suggests that consumerism commodifies everything — even life itself and it is not just about rescuing a dog; it seeks to save our conscience. Throughout, the screenplay emphasises that friendships don’t need words.

In a socio-political climate where language, noise, and debate are constantly used to divide people, the absolute, silent loyalty of Oscar stands out. It whispers that in a world exhausted by loud human rhetoric, the silent, honest actions of an animal are worth embracing. Go, hug!

Ohh My Dog will be releasing in theatres on August 7

Published - August 06, 2026 02:36 pm IST