Who Let The Dogs Out? | #217
And what's cricket got to do with LOTR?
“100 gram ki kimat tum kya jaano Ramesh babu”
Friends, the events of the last couple of days in the Olympics have left us crushed. Even a historic couple of bronzes in hockey and wrestling, and a heartwarming South Asian 1-2 in the javelin throw hasn’t really lifted our spirits. So, we decided to improve our mood with the one thing that always succeeds in doing so - doggos. Here’s an edition dedicated to dogs from Indian cinema. Woof!
Things we learnt this week 🤓
The goodest cricket umpire we’ve seen on screen is Tuffy (real name Redo) from Hum Aapke Hain Koun. Redo is a breed of dog native to India called Indian Spitz that evolved from the German Spitz, introduced to the region by the British in the 19th century. There was a resurgence in this breed in the 80s when the government of India restricted importing dog breeds to India and the Indian spitz looked very similar to the European Spitz. 13/10 for Tuffy’s acting skills, he didn’t have to Redo any scenes 🥁
Even if you aren’t a dog lover, it's hard not to be moved by the film 777 Charlie starring Charlie (yep, that’s his real name too!) the Labrador. Director Kiranraj pencilled the script and was looking for a dog for the photoshoot. He was informed that a labrador was up for adoption. She was very naughty and would break things, which is why her family put up for adoption. Kiranraj saw Charlie and it was love at first sight and Kiranraj ended up adopting the dog himself. Charlie was trained for over a couple of years and after a sterling performance in the film, has decided to retire on a high from being in front of the camera. No Chaplin around for Charlie!
Zoya Akthar’s 2015 ensemble film Dil Dhadakne Do was a runaway hit with audiences. The film featured the character of Pluto Mehra - the family dog, voiced by Aamir Khan. Pluto was a bull mastiff - a breed developed as a guard dog in the nineteenth century by cross-breeding the English Mastiff with the now-extinct Old English Bulldog. The success of the film saw a surge in the sale of bull mastiffs, with one Delhi pet shop owner reporting a 60% increase in sales for this particular breed after the release of the movie. They’re good dogs, Brent.
From IWTK, with love 💌
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Only In India 🇮🇳
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<3 IWTK