Ohh My Dog
Director: Amit Rai
Cast: Pankaj Tripathi, Pawan Malhotra, Maahi Rai
Rating: 2.5 stars

Dogs, a heartwarming tale of a furry companion rescuing its human, and a pet parent desperately searching for his lost pup. On paper, Ohh My Dog had already won me over before the opening scene had even played. What unfolded over the next two and a half hours, however, was a different story.

Ohh My Dog tells the story of two separated pups, Momo and Oscar, as their humans search for them.

I once heard someone in the business say that filmmakers should never work with babies or animals. One, because they're delightfully unpredictable. Two, because, well... they easily steal the scene from adult actors. Watching Ohh My Dog, I couldn't help but wonder if that old piece of wisdom deserved another mention.

Director Amit Rai cheekily flips the title of his previous film, Oh My God 2 and it's a clever touch. What works in Ohh My Dog's favour is how refreshingly clean it is. There's hardly a scene that feels unsuitable for a family audience, with Rai ensuring the storytelling remains accessible and engaging, especially for children.

The first half is neatly structured around two parallel investigations into the disappearances. Where the film begins to lose its footing, however, is in the execution. In its attempt to keep the storytelling simple, the screenplay slips into predictability and stretches believability a little too far. An entire police force being terrified of a dog may make for an amusing gag once, but the joke wears thin with repetition. Much of the runtime is spent reiterating just how intelligent these four-legged companions are. While the message is endearing, the storytelling isn't compelling enough to keep you invested. The film repeatedly asks you to suspend your disbelief, but it stretches that elastic a little too far. The same goes for the child prodigy, who somehow manages to outsmart an entire police force with surprising ease. While these moments are designed to be crowd-pleasing, they end up feeling more convenient than convincing.

The performances are uniformly sincere. Mohit Raai delivers a confident turn as the whiz kid determined to find his beloved Momo, while the canine cast effortlessly steals hearts. Pankaj Tripathi makes a special appearance, but the role doesn't give him much to sink his teeth into. Geeta Aggarwal emerges as the standout performer, bringing warmth to every scene she's in. Pawan Malhotra shouts most of his dialogues.

Aman Pant's music gives the film an emotional warmth, elevating several moments that might otherwise have fallen flat.

Overall, Amit Rai clearly sets out to make a wholesome film with Ohh My Dog that celebrates the unique bond between humans and their pets, and there is genuine warmth in that vision. The film never resorts to cheap humour that feels out of place for a family audience, which is refreshing in itself. Yet, every time the narrative has an opportunity to surprise, it settles for the obvious. The mystery is solved through convenient writing rather than clever plotting. Emotional moments are stretched longer than they need to be, and several sequences rely on exaggerated situations. By the time the end credits roll, the dogs leave a far stronger impression than the story.