OTT: Oh, for the love of dogs; marking Earth Day with Attenborough & dark dramas
Oh My Dog, a Tamil movie that started streaming on Amazon Prime Video, is about a young boy’s strong bonding with a blind husky. The film, directed by debutant Sarov Shanmugam, has elements of Home Alone (two fumbling, madcap criminals trying to steal the dog from the boy) and a Cruella de Ville kind of figure from the classic, 101 Dalmatians, in the shape of Fernando (Vijay), who is frenzied about not fur but about winning dog competitions!
But it is pointless and unfair to compare Oh My Dog with Hollywood films like Lasse Hallstrom’s extremely moving 2009 Hachi: A Dog’s Tale (which was inspired by a true story in Japan of an Akita’s absolute devotion towards its owner and itself an adaptation of a 1987 Japanese film Hachiko Monogatari), which is currently streaming on Amazon Prime, or even animation classics like Lady & The Tramp or Wes Anderson’s futuristic, dystopian Isle of Dogs, which are extremely expensive and time-consuming to make.
It is not as if there have not been dog-centric Tamil films in the past. More recently, Sibi Sathyaraj’s Naaigal Jaakirathai (2014), a comedy thriller, had a German shepherd Idoh (obtained from a trainer who helped to train dogs which assist in army operations in Jammu & Kashmir) help the cop-hero to locate his abducted wife. But, Oh My God, falls in a different genre and targets children and makes an honest attempt to tell a heart-warming story about a child’s best companion. The film’s message on the need to show kindness towards animals frankly needs to be encouraged among tech-obsessed children.
And, the fact that Tamil films can experiment with such a genre instead of dishing out mindless gore and runaway plots in the name of entertainment is heartening. Oh My God at least paves the way for another kind of genre in Tamil cinema.
The film, which is set in Ooty, quickly introduces us to a mischievous boy Arjun (played by actor Arun Vijay’s own son Arnav) who lives with his parents and grandfather (Vijayakumar). (Incidentally, all the three generations of the family are in the film).
Furry tale
Arun Vijay plays a sober, supportive role at first but gets a chance to be true to his action hero image by flexing his muscles and beating up the bad guys after the interval. He also has a back story in the film, which helps his son achieve his dream. But first, we are introduced to Fernando (Vijay), who wears fur-lined clothes and is an one-dimensional mean person. He dislikes his physically challenged brother and is cruel to his dogs. He trains them for long hours and pumps them with proteins to be able to win world records. Winning competitions is a matter of “prestige” for him.
When his champion husky gives birth to puppies, one of them turns out to be blind. He asks his two silly lackeys to dispose it off, and the bumbling fellows who move around in a van lose the puppy. The blind puppy is rescued by Arjun and follows him home. Arjun loves the puppy and convinces his father Shankar (Arun Vijay) that they should keep the dog. After he learns it is blind, Arjun doesn’t cast the lovable canine Simba, so named by him, out on the road, but the child trains the dog with a bell to follow his commands. He even manages to tearfully convince a Russian doctor to operate on the dog to cure its blindness.
The film sags when it wades into emotional tropes which seem unnecessary and awkward. The relation between Vijayakumar and his daughter-in-law, or the tensions between Shankar and his father seem forced. The trajectory of the story is so predictable as well – everyone knows where this is headed and, at some point, Fernando is going to meet his nemesis in Simba, the puppy that he had ordered to be killed. But, Oh My Dog is to be enjoyed like a family film, a light-hearted take on a child’s love for a dog. Don’t dig too deep.
Also read: OTT: Paying homage to yaks in Bhutan; Puneeth’s last film & vengeful mothers
Earth Day viewing on OTT
On Earth Day, which is celebrated on Friday, April 22, OTT offers an extremely rich variety of documentaries ranging from topics on disappearing coral reefs (Chasing Coral on Netflix) to Diving with Dolphins (Disney+Hotstar) and Dancing with the Birds (Netflix); to taking us on journeys along with elephants as they traverse long distances looking for water and food (Elephant in Disney+Hotstar with a voice over by Meghan Markle). All to better understand the earth that we live on.
There is one that is highly recommended: a Netflix documentary, David Attenborough: A Life on our Planet, in which, the 93-year old Attenborough, who has visited every continent on the globe, exploring the wilds and documenting the living world in all its variety and wonder, maps how steeply the planet’s biodiversity has diminished over his lifetime.
Pertinently, the documentary opens with Attenborough standing in a deserted location. It’s the territory around the Chernobyl nuclear plant in Ukraine, a once heavily populated area that was evacuated after human error rendered it uninhabitable. It is always human error that is chipping away at the well being of the environment and this documentary is meant to be Attenborough’s (who better than him?) “witness statement”.
It is also to deliver a warning that time is ticking for the planet. The documentary has a message in the final 30 minutes that says: it’s not too late if we act now. Halt the growth in the world’s population. Create no-fishing zones. Stop eating meat. It’s not about saving the planet, it’s about saving ourselves, said one reviewer.
To mark Earth Day, National Geographic will showcase a series of short films, spotlighting the exceptional stories of changemakers in India who have taken extraordinary steps to make our world a better place. In addition to National Geographic, the entertainment channels at Disney Star will also feature the films.
Some of the changemakers include, Vani Murthy- Known as the Worm Queen, for spreading awareness about the importance of composting; Purnima Barman Devi- The leader of the Hargila Army, working towards the protection of endangered Greater Adjutant Stork; Tejas Sidnal – An architect who has innovated a unique tile that is made from carbon waste and Venkatesh Charloo – a pioneering marine conservationist, helping in coral restoration in Goa.
Fear of dark secrets tumbling out
This weekend, a suspense thriller series called London Files lands on Voot Select. Set against the backdrop of the United Kingdom, London Files follows the journey of homicide
detective Om Singh, played by Arjun Rampal, whose life takes a shocking turn after he
reluctantly takes on a missing person’s case in the city of London.
Battling with his inner demons, Om is being forced to take on the case of a media baron Amar Roy’s missing daughter. Amar, played by Purab Kohli, is a divisive figure, who is backing a stringent anti-immigration bill. As Om embarks on investigating the case, a darker mystery comes pouring out, one that threatens to expose some buried secrets, as well as Om’s repressed past.
Meanwhile, OTT viewers are also loving a British drama that landed on Netflix: The Anatomy of a Scandal, on how the life of a parliamentary minister James Whitehouse, a happily married man with a loving family home, turns topsy-turvy when a scandalous secret comes to light.
The series is based on a novel by British journalist Sarah Vaughan that was published not long after the #MeToo reached Westminster. Vaughan, it seems, delved into experiences as a political reporter to pen a gripping political thriller in the post-MeToo era. Check it out.
