Bro Daddy
Bro Daddy is a 2022 Indian Malayalam-language comedy-drama film directed by Prithviraj Sukumaran and produced by Antony Perumbavoor through Aashirvad Cinemas, with a screenplay by Sreejith N. and Bibin Maliekal. The film stars Mohanlal and Prithviraj Sukumaran alongside Lalu Alex, Meena, Kalyani Priyadarshan, Kaniha, Unni Mukundan, Jagadish, Mallika Sukumaran and Soubin Shahir in supporting roles. The songs and background score for the film were composed by Deepak Dev. Principal photography began on 15 July 2021 in Hyderabad, Telangana. Filming lasted 44 days, concluding on 6 September 2021. "Bro Daddy" released on Disney+ Hotstar on 26 January  2022.The film received generally positive reviews from critics and audiences and was a commercial success at OTT. Plot. The plot shuttles between two affluent Christian families in Kerala: John Kattadi is the owner of Kattadi TMT Steel Bars, the business, which he inherited from his late father Chacko Kattadi who was a rich and successful businessman. His wife Annamma aka Anna is a homemaker and son Eesho Kattadi is a sought-after creative director at a leading advertising company in Bangalore. On the other hand, John's childhood friend Kurian Maliekkal is a self-made man who grew from humble  beginnings and runs an advertisement company. He has a homemaker wife Elsy and a daughter Anna, who works at an IT company in Bangalore. Kurian had a history with Annamma, when he proposed to her, her father despised him for being a ""nouveau riche"" and made him run by unleashing their dog. He reminisces about this unrequited love and names his daughter after her. Nevertheless, the Kattadi and Maliekkal families are now family friends and share a good bond. The families meet at the wedding reception of their mutual friend Dr. Samuel's daughter. Samuel's son-in-law Dr.  Cyril plans to establish a maternity hospital network across India. Kurian hopes to grab its advertising campaign and presses Samuel. Eesho and Anna are seeing each others family after a long time. Kurian offers his company's creative director's post to Eesho, but Eesho rejects it. However, Elsy and Annamma is impressed by each others kids, they think two of them would make a match. Annamma proposes this to John and Eesho, but Eesho rejects it. Elsy's proposal is also declined by Kurian and Anna. Eesho and Anna returns to Bangalore. In Bangalore, unknown to their families, Eesho  and Anna are leading a live-in relationship and it has been going on since four years. As Eesho and Anna are enjoying their moments, things take a turn when Anna gets pregnant unplanned. Eesho initially enquires about abortion procedures but since Anna is against it they finally decides to keep it. Now they are in a dilemma on informing their parents. Suddenly, Eesho is called by John to reach Kerala at once. At home, he was awaited by the news of his mother's pregnancy, which baffles Eesho. He pushes them for abortion but they decide to keep it . John also tasks Eesho with informing this to his surviving mother (Ammachi), Eesho's grandmother. John and family arrives at his ancestral home for attending the baptism of his younger brother's baby. Kurian and family also arrives there as invitees, to the shock of Eesho, who was planning to reveal everything to John and was not expecting Kurian there. Anna advices Eesho to talk to her father affectionately and break the ice between them. To make matters worse, a restless Eesho accidentally spills "achār" on Kurian's clothes, much to the anger of Kurian. Meanwhile, Ammachi figures out that  Annamma is pregnant and welcomes that. After multiple failed attempts, Eesho confronts John and discloses the matter, which shocks John and Annamma. John devises a plan to sort things out without revealing anything to Kurian and Elsy. He promises Anna that they will ask her father her hand in marriage. Kurian wants to marry her off to someone in advertising field as he fears his company has no heir since Anna is not into his business and his only hope is through a son-in-law. Kurian, who do not like Eesho, agrees for the alliance as Anna has agreed  to it. Beside, unbeknownst to Eesho, John promises Kurian that Eesho will be his successor. Meanwhile, Samuel informs Kurian that Cyril has agreed to collaborate with Kurian's company if he can present an impressive ad concept. Elsy figures out that Anna is pregnant and pushes for an early wedding date. Meanwhile, Kurian finds out through a friend that Eesho was in a live-in relationship and his pregnant partner was packed off by John. Enraged Kurian confronts John and Eesho, in the scuffle, Anna reveals that it is herself who is pregnant with Eesho's child. Shocked and tricked  by his own family, Kurian leaves, heartbroken. Kurian gradually copes up with reality and pardons Anna for tricking him. Eesho presents a catchy ad concept before Kurian, which Cyril approves. The wedding takes place in a grand ceremony with everyone's approval. During the Wedding ceremony, Kurian reveals to everyone that he is going to be a grandfather and John also reveals that he is not only going to be a grandfather, but a father of one more child as well. Months later, in front of a labour room a nurse calls for Anna's husband, to which both John  and Eesho respond and stare at each other. Production. Development. "Empuraan" was supposed to be Prithviraj Sukumaran's second directorial, sequel to his debut film "Lucifer" (2019), set to begin in 2021 had the COVID-19 pandemic not spread the planet. On 16 June 2021, Prithviraj revealed via Instagram that he liked a storyline written by his daughter Alankrita which he likes to direct, but put aside for another screenplay that he heard which can be made a film amid the COVID-19 restrictions. Two days later (on 18 June), "Bro Daddy" was announced as his second directorial, again with Mohanlal in  the title role and produced by Antony Perumbavoor for Aashirvad Cinemas, which will also have himself in an equally important role. He described the film as a "fun family drama", written by Sreejith N. and Bibin Maliekal. Prithviraj said that the kind of films produced during the pandemic period prompted him to take "Bro Daddy", the pandemic forced filmmakers to make "contained films" that can be made within pandemic restrictions, "we are badly missing a happy film in Malayalam cinema over the past one and half year. All of the content we see in Kerala is dark. It's either  a murder mystery or a dark satire or an investigative thriller", it was when he was thinking about this Sreejith and Maliekal approached him with the screenplay of "Bro Daddy", "I found it to be interesting, hilarious and more than anything, I believe it will be a really enjoyable, light watch". He then narrated it to Mohanlal, who immediately agreed. The screenplay was bought by Prithviraj Productions. Casting. Beside Mohanlal and Prithviraj, the rest of the cast billed in the title poster during the film's announcement were Kalyani Priyadarshan, Meena, Lalu Alex, Murali Gopy, Kaniha, and Soubin Shahir. Prithviraj  called Unni Mukundan for the film while they were working on "Bhramam". He also called Jagadish his other co-actor in "Bhramam" for a humorous role. "Bro Daddy" marks the Malayalam debut of Kannada actress Kavya Shetty and Tamil actor Charle. Prithviraj's mother Mallika Sukumaran was cast in the film as Mohanlal's mother. Filming. "Bro Daddy" was scheduled to begin production only after Aashirvad Cinemas completes production of "12th Man" which was supposed to begin on 5 July 2021, but held back after failing to obtain permission from the state government due to the restrictions pertaining to the  COVID-19 pandemic. Hence, they decided to move ahead with "Bro Daddy". However, "Bro Daddy" was denied permission to shoot in Kerala, which was originally planned to shoot entirely in the state, hence they had to move out of Kerala, which increased cost of production. Location scouting was complete by early July. Principal photography began on 15 July 2021 in Hyderabad, Telangana. First day of shoot took place at an IT Park, with scenes featuring Prithviraj and Kalyani. A total of 52-day shoot was charted for the film in Telangana. Mohanlal joined on 20 July. Since government granted permission to  shoot films in Kerala from 18 July. It was shifted to Kerala after two more weeks of filming in Hyderabad. Filming was completed on 6 September 2021. It lasted 44 days. Cinematography was handled by Abinandhan Ramanujam. Music. The film's songs and background score were composed by Deepak Dev. "Bro Daddy", the soundtrack album, marks the launch of Aashirvad Cinemas' record label. The album contains four songs. The first single "Parayathe Vannen" was released online on 13 January 2022, sung by M. G. Sreekumar (for Mohanlal's portion) and Vineeth Sreenivasan (for Prithviraj's portion), with lyrics by Lakshmi  Shrikumar. Vineeth recorded the song in August 2021. Sreekumar was not initially part of the song, but as a regular in Mohanlal films, he was chosen for his voice recognition. It was the first song composed for the film and its elements was also used in various sequences in the film and in trailer. The song features the romance between John and Annamma and also shows sequences of Eesho and Anna. The song "Vannu Pokum" sung by Mohanlal and Prithviraj was released online on 20 January and shows snippets from their recording session. The original visuals of the song, placed  in the opening credits, shows a comic strip video featuring a couple getting married at a young age and their newborn son. It was sketched by comic artist Bhaghya Babu. Dev proposed the idea to structure the song like a conversation between a father and son. He initially thought of bringing Yesudas and Vijay Yesudas to sing, but after composing, he felt that as a conversation it is best to hear it from the characters' voice. Mohanlal and Prithviraj recorded the song on 7 December 2021 at Dev's Wonderland, the recording studio of Dev at Kochi. It was recorded  within two hours. Release. On 29 December 2021, it was confirmed that the film would be releasing directly on the OTT service Disney+ Hotstar on 26 January 2022. Reception. Janani K. of "India Today" rated 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote that the film is "a delicious family drama with a lot of underlying messages. With excellent performances from an ensemble cast, the film is a rollicking comedy that can be enjoyed with your family ... Mohanlal is a hoot in this film. His minute expressions and his comic timing are impeccable. Prithviraj, as his son, too delivered a kickass  performance ... Prithviraj Sukumaran has treated the story of "Bro Daddy" with the utmost care". In comparison, she said that "Bro Daddy" is "not "Badhaai Ho", but better". "OnManorama" also rated 3.5 out of 5 and wrote: "The storyline, which trails a simple and flawless plot, carves a smooth course to keep you thoroughly. engrossed. The dexterously crafted sequences, the coherent scenes and artfully realistic dialogues suggest how well the script has been churned out". Mohanlal "effortlessly juggles with expressions and handles situations in style ... the movie showcases the vibrancy and comic timings of vintage Mohanlal", while Prithviraj "displays an exceptional  poise in comic timing" and Lalu Alex is "at his zealous", and also praised the rest of the cast. Baradwaj Rangan writing for "Film Companion" said: ""Bro Daddy" is a sweet, silly, likeable, well-written comedy with lots of laughs. Things are woven very organically into the script and Prithviraj shines as a director ... It works because of the script. It works because of the way it’s been handled and because the cast works wonderfully. Mohanlal and Prithviraj share an amazing chemistry". Arjun Menon of "Pinkvilla" rated 3.5 out of 5 and stated that the film is "a superior  product of the post lockdown phenomena of the spatially contained covid quickies, shot on a smaller budget with a fewer cast and never feels tampered down by the restrictions. The movie is in some way a litmus test just to see how much of the older sensibilities of the fun, jolly, escapist dramas works out for the content savvy millennials". Mohanlal "just oozes vitality and charm" whose "wide-eyed glances, naughty interludes that play out in full throttle coupled with the effortless body acting, orchestrated with flamboyant candour by a fanboy turned filmmaker, who knows how to show his icon  on the screen". Anand Kochukudy of "The Quint" also rated 3.5 out of 5 and called it "a breezy, light-hearted comedy that ticks most of the boxes" and Mohanlal's role has "ample scope to tickle the funny bone of the audience". Even though, "there isn't much novelty to "Bro Daddy" but it still works as a fun and entertaining watch for a wide audience". He praised the acting of Mohanlal, Prithviraj, Lalu Alex and others, and the background score, but opined that the duration could have been trimmed. Deepa Soman of "The Times of India" rated 3  out of 5 and ""Bro Daddy" keeps one interested in the proceedings right from the beginning. Prithviraj and Mohanlal offer some interesting moments of the equations between a son and dad, who don’t have much age gap between them. Lalu Alex has also tried to tickle our funny bones at various stretches in the film, in which Kalyani Priyadarshan’s characterisation, too, is refreshing. Deepak Dev’s music suits the mood of the movie quite well", but criticized the duration. Haricharan Pudipeddi of "Hindustan Times" wrote: "The film works to a large extent because it treats the subject in  a light-hearted manner and it's the comical moments that help the film stay mostly entertaining". But he said the later half "meanders to some extent" but compensated by the performances, "Mohanlal charms his way through the movie with effortless performance. He nails those minute expressions with ease which make his character stand out. Prithviraj is equally good". Remake. After the success of "Bro Daddy", producer D. Suresh Babu talked with the makers for acquiring the Telugu remake right of the film, which he plans with Venkatesh Daggubati and his nephew Rana Daggubati starring.