Images:YPD 2s orangutan & other BW animal h

This orangutan makes his debut today with the film Yamla Pagla Deewana 2, starring Sunny and Bobby Deol and their father and veteran actor, Dharmendra.

Tuffy, the Pomeranian, played a critical role in Sooraj Barjatya's 1994 blockbuster Hum Aapke Hai Kaun. Aside from being particularly good at understanding Hindi, Tuffy also had a hotline with the Hindu god Krishna and was his messenger in the climax of the film.

Izzat (L) took the saying about a dog being a man's best friend to its (il)logical extreme by making the dog avenge Jackie Shroff's death in the film. In Haathi Mere Saathi, Ramu the elephant sacrificed his happiness so that Rajesh Khanna and Tanuja could live happily ever after. That's an act of friendship that's worth trumpeting.

Pigeons have played the critically important role of being messengers in fraught circumstances at different points in history. No doubt Sooraj Barjatya was referencing this tradition when he picked this pigeon to be the go-between for Prem (Salman Khan) and Suman ( Bhagyashree) in Maine Pyaar Kiya. Don't get taken in by the bird's pacific white colour. In the climax, the pigeon attacks the villain (Mohnish Behl ) so viciously that he fell off a cliff.

Santosh Sivan's Tahaan told the story of a little boy's love for his pet donkey Birbal. When Birbal is taken away by a money lender, Tahaan decides he won't be separated and gets the donkey back.