Jul 07, 2026 5:19pm IST
Director Amit Rai On Directing A Dog In ‘Ohh My Dog’ (EXCLUSIVE)
Filmmaker Amit Rai, known for directing “OMG 2,” is set to deliver an unconventional and emotional story with “Ohh My Dog.” The teaser of the film has just dropped.
Ahead of “Ohh My Dog,” which releases July 31, Amit Rai shares details on his latest project, the unique concept behind it, directing a dog and how and why veteran actors Pankaj Tripathi and Pawan Malhotra came on board, in an exclusive interview with Variety India.
Excerpts from the interview…
How did this concept come to your mind?
A dog chooses you, listens to you and does good to you. A dog chooses you, just like God listens to you. The bond between man and dog is beyond life and death. I can tell you stories with enough proof. In the world of co-existence, where humans and dogs are so different, a Dharmaraj Yudhishthir cannot go to heaven without his dog. And so, I feel a dog should have a story like a human. If you watch the teaser, you will know what the story is. These are two personalities who are doing their duty. The human is doing his duty, and the dog is doing his duty.
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Is it a true story?
It’s based on a story told to me by a friend about someone who had kept his pet’s ashes at home for over a year and couldn’t get himself to immerse it. I know many such people who have been embracing someone's love for 40 years or more. The love that Adam saw in Eve's eyes and Eve saw in Adam's eyes, must have existed from the beginning. Just like water, love has also been made by God. So I thought, what is this love that goes beyond the human level and reaches the divine? If it gets captured, it will be fun in the film.
How tough was it for you to get the dog to ‘act’?
I don't want to take credit. I feel that he has done it himself. I don’t know how he was so emotive. I would just tell him in his ears, “Son, do this. Show your anger, show your love, show your fear.” He has literally enacted the navarasas (nine emotions) on screen.
You’ve cast Pankaj Tripathi and Pawan Malhotra for this film.
Pankaj has two dogs. He rescued them from somewhere in Ambarnath or Badlapur. Today, both the dogs – Prince and Genie – live with him. He loves them so much. Their names are written outside their house. You can understand how compassionate that man is. After listening to the story of the film, he himself said that he wanted to come on board. I replied, ‘You are too big a star for this film.’ He responded, “Keep those things aside, I’m taking it up because I like this role.”
I have worked with Pawan in my previous films, including “OMG 2.” He is a very good friend of mine. When I narrated the story to him, he said, “Yes, let's do it.” The same thing happened with Geeta Aggarwal and Shreedhar Dubey, who worked in the last film.
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