Bro Daddy

Bro Daddy (stylized as BRO DADᗡY) is a 2022 Indian Malayalam-language comedy-drama film directed by Prithviraj Sukumaran and produced by Antony Perumbavoor through Aashirvad Cinemas, with screenplay by Sreejith N. and Bibin Maliekal. The film stars Mohanlal, Prithviraj Sukumaran, Meena, Kalyani Priyadarshan, Lalu Alex, Kaniha, Jagadish, Mallika Sukumaran, Soubin Shahir and Unni Mukundan in supporting roles. The songs and background score for the film were composed by Deepak Dev.

Principal photography began on 15 July 2021 in Ernakulam,Hyderabad, Telangana. Filming lasted 44 days, concluding on 6 September 2021. Bro Daddy released on Disney+ Hotstar on 26 January 2022 to positive reviews.

Plot
John Kattadi is a wealthy and successful steel bar businessman whose wife, Annamma, is a homemaker and son Eesho is a sought-after creative director at an advertising company in Bangalore. John's friend Kurian is a self-made man who runs an advertisement company. He and his wife Elsy have a daughter Anna, who works at an IT company in Bangalore.

In the past, Kurian had a crush on Annamma and asked her father for her hand in marrriage. However, her father rejected him for being a "nouveau riche". He reminisces about this unrequited love and has named his daughter the same name. Nevertheless, both families are good friends.

A common friend, Dr. Samuel, tells them that his son-in-law, Cyril plans to establish a maternity hospital network across India. Kurian hopes to win its advertising business and offers his company's creative director's position to Eesho, who rejects it. Both mothers are impressed by Eesho and Anna and think that the two would make a good pair. When Annamma proposes this, Eesho rejects it. Similarly, Elsy's proposal is also declined by Anna and Kurian. Eesho and Anna return to Bangalore, where it is revealed that they are in a secret live-in relationship which has been going on for years.

Things take a turn Anna is discovered to be pregnant. Taken by surprise, Eesho is initially against having a baby but Anna wants to keep it. At the same time, Eesho is called by John to visit Kerala at once, and he told about his mother's pregnancy. Eesho informs Anna about this news who tells him to use this opportunity to inform his parents about her pregnancy as well. John and his family visit his ancestral home at Kottayam for attending the baptism of his nephew. Kurian and Elsy also arrive there much to the shock of Eesho, who was planning to reveal all here. Anna advises Eesho to talk to her father affectionately and break the ice between them, but the plan fails when Eesho accidentally spills achār on him. John's mother shrewdly figures out that Annamma is pregnant and is supportive. After multiple failed attempts, Eesho finally tells John and Annamma about Anna's pregnancy and their relationship, which really shocks them. John goes to Bangalore to meet Anna and tells her to not reveal her pregnancy to her parents that they will ask her father for her hand in marriage.

The Kattadi family visit Anna's parents and formally asks for her hand. Kurian is apprehensive because of his dislike of Eesho and his desire to have a son-in-law who can run his business after him. However, upon seeing that Anna has agreed to the wedding, he decides to go ahead with it. Unbeknownst to Eesho, John promises Kurian that Eesho will be his successor. Meanwhile, Cyril has agreed to collaborate with Kurian's company if he can present an impressive ad concept. Due to her morning sickness, Elsy figures out that Anna is pregnant and pushes for a quick wedding. Kurian finds out through his friend Jameskutty that Eesho was in a live-in relationship and his pregnant partner was packed off by John, not realising that the girl is his own daughter. Shocked and enraged, Kurian breaks his friendship with John.

John and Annamma attempt to reveal the truth to Kurian who angrily refuses to listen to them. When the drunk Eesho pokes fun at Kurian for showing off a silly matter, Kurian slaps Eesho and in the scuffle, Anna reveals that it is she who is pregnant with Eesho's child. Elsy, Annamma and John also say that they knew the truth and feared how to disclose it to Kurian. Heartbroken and feeling tricked by his own family, Kurian leaves, but gradually comes to term with the situation and pardons Anna. Eesho too tries to make amends with Kurien and presents a catchy ad concept which Cyril approves, winning a huge business deal for Kurian. The wedding takes place in a grand ceremony with everyone's approval. During the reception, Kurian announces that he is going to be a grandfather. John too announces that he is not only going to be a grandfather, but a father as well. Months later, in the lobby of a labour room, a nurse calls for Anna's husband, to which both John and Eesho respond.

Cast

 * Mohanlal as John Kattadi, Owner of Kattadi TMT steel bars company, a successful businessman, Chacko's son, Eesho's father and Annamma's husband
 * Prithviraj Sukumaran as Eesho John Kattadi, a creative director in an advertising company based in Bangalore, John's and Annamma's son, later Anna's husband
 * Lalu Alex as Kurian G. Maliekkal, Owner of Maliekkal advertising company, Anna's father and Elsy's husband
 * Meena as Annamma John Kattadi, John's wife and Eesho's mother (Voiceover by Devi S)
 * Kalyani Priyadarshan as Anna Kurian, an IT professional based in Bangalore, Kurian's and Elsy's daughter, later Eesho's wife
 * Kaniha as Elsy Kurian, Kurian's wife and Anna's mother (Voice Over By Vimmy Mariam George)
 * Jagadish as Dr. Samuel Mathew, Cyril's Father-in-law and John's and Kurian's friend
 * Soubin Shahir as Happy Pinto, a wedding planner
 * Unni Mukundan as Dr. Cyril, Samuel's son-in-law
 * Mallika Sukumaran as John's mother and Eesho's grandmother
 * Charle as Venkayya, Eesho's and Anna's neighbour in Bangalore
 * Antony Perumbavoor as SI Antony Joseph
 * Nikhila Vimal as a nurse (Cameo)
 * Jaffar Idukki as Fr. Edward Kulathakkal, church vicar
 * Salam Bhukari as Pinto's assistant
 * Dinesh Prabhakar as James Kutty, Kurian's family friend
 * Sijoy Varghese as Paul, Eesho's boss
 * Muthumani as Dr. Archana Menon, a gynecologist
 * Sohan Seenulal as Kurian's office manager
 * Kavya Shetty as Susan Mathews, Eesho's colleague
 * Thumboor Shibu
 * Sukumaran as Chacko Kattadi, John's late father, Eesho's late grandfather and the founder of Kattadi TMT Steel Bars Company (photo presence only)

Development
Empuraan was supposed to be Prithviraj Sukumaran's second directorial, sequel to his debut film Lucifer (2019). 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".