Poniiy Review: A Heartfelt Hindi Dog Movie for Families

Here's the setup: a young local girl and her family have been caring for a dog named Poniiy. The twist? Poniiy isn't really theirs. The dog's true owner is a kind-hearted man who has mysteriously vanished. Instead of shrugging it off, the girl decides she's going to reunite them, and she and Poniiy set off on a heartfelt journey to track him down.

That's a classic "small hero, big journey" framework, and Motilal leans into it. The film places a child and an animal at the center of a quest that's less about the destination and more about the strangers who help along the way. The missing man becomes less of a plot device and more of an emotional beacon, someone whose kindness is described and remembered, which keeps him present even in his absence. It's a smart narrative choice; you're always pulling for a reunion rather than just watching two wanderers rack up mileage.

Let's be honest about the genre. Dog-and-kid road movies can curdle into syrup faster than you can say "labrador." What saves Poniiy is restraint, at least in its best moments. Motilal seems to understand that the audience knows exactly where this is going, so the pleasure has to live in the how. And the how is largely carried by Ananya Raava Basu, who gives the girl a stubborn, no-nonsense resolve that keeps her from being a wide-eyed saint. She's a kid with a mission and occasional bad ideas, which is exactly right.

Kunal Singh brings a quiet, steady presence to the mix, and the veteran supporting cast, including Raju Kher, Rahul Roy, Mushtaq Khan, and Debdut Ghosh, does what seasoned character actors do: they make the world around the leads feel lived-in. Each encounter on the journey adds a little texture. Some of these vignettes land harder than others. A couple stretch a bit thin, and there are moments where the pacing dawdles when it should trot.

Fresh off the gate, the film holds a TMDb rating of 0/10, which simply reflects that there aren't enough audience votes yet to mean anything. Ignore it for now. The runtime isn't the issue here; the movie feels like a comfortable, digestible length, and it never overstays its welcome the way bloated family films often do.

The real question is whether it moves you, and for me, it mostly did. The finale is where the film stakes its claim, and whether you tear up probably depends on your tolerance for a loyal dog staring into the middle distance. I'm not made of stone, and neither is Poniiy's best material. It's not trying to be a prestige drama. It's trying to be the movie a family puts on a Sunday afternoon and remembers fondly. On that contract, it delivers.

Where it stumbles is in ambition. The dialogue drifts into the obvious more than it should, and a few emotional beats are told rather than shown. A tighter script might have elevated this from "lovely" to "unforgettable." Still, for a genre that so often gets it wrong, getting it mostly right counts for something.

Pros

• Genuine emotional core that avoids shameless manipulation
• Ananya Raava Basu anchors the film with a grounded, likable performance
• Strong ensemble of veteran actors who enrich the journey
• Beautifully simple premise that works because of its simplicity

Cons

• Some vignettes and detours drag the middle section
• Dialogue occasionally spells out feelings the visuals already earned
• Plays it safe, rarely surprising seasoned viewers

Poniiy is a gentle, earnest Bollywood adventure that knows its lane and drives it well. It won't blow your mind, but it will warm your heart, and in a genre built on that exact promise, that's a mission accomplished. Bring tissues. Bring your dog. Just maybe bring a slightly lower expectation for surprises, and you'll walk out smiling.