''Bro Daddy'' (stylized as BRO DADᗡY) is a 2022 Indian
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...
-language
comedy-drama film
Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...
directed by
Prithviraj Sukumaran
Prithviraj Sukumaran (born 16 October 1982) is an Indian actor, director, producer and playback singer primarily working in Malayalam cinema. He has also done Tamil, Telugu and Hindi films. He acted in more than 100 films in a variety of rol ...
and produced by
Antony Perumbavoor
Malekudy Joseph Antony, better known as Antony Perumbavoor is an Indian film producer, Film distributor, distributor, movie theatre, cinema exhibitor and actor, who works in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam film industry. He began his career as a ch ...
through
Aashirvad Cinemas
Aashirvad Cinemas is an Indian film production company based in Kochi, Kerala. It was established in 2000 by Antony Perumbavoor, since then, it has produced over 30 Malayalam films, starring Mohanlal. Since 2009, the company co-operates with th ...
, with a screenplay by Sreejith N. and Bibin Maliekal. The film stars
Mohanlal
Mohanlal Viswanathan (born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor, film producer, playback singer, film distributor, and director who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically appeare ...
,
Prithviraj Sukumaran
Prithviraj Sukumaran (born 16 October 1982) is an Indian actor, director, producer and playback singer primarily working in Malayalam cinema. He has also done Tamil, Telugu and Hindi films. He acted in more than 100 films in a variety of rol ...
,
Lalu Alex
Lalu Alex is an Indian actor who works in Malayalam cinema. In a career spanning four decades, Lalu Alex has acted over 250 movies and is known for his character roles, comic roles and antagonistic roles in Malayalam movie industry.
Lalu Alex ...
,
Unni Mukundan
Unnikrishnan Mukundan (born 22 September 1987), commonly known as Unni Mukundan, is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. He has also acted in a few Telugu and Tamil films.
Unni Mukundan made his acting debut with the Ta ...
,
Meena
Meena () is a sub-group of Bhils. They speak Meena language. They started adopting the Brahmin worship system. Its name is also transliterated as ''Meenanda'' or ''Mina''. Historians claim that they belong to the Matsya tribe. They got the sta ...
,
Kalyani Priyadarshan
Kalyani Priyadarshan (born 5 April 1993) is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ...
,
Kaniha
Divya Venkatasubramaniam, better known by her stage name Kaniha or Kanika, is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema along with a few Tamil, Telugu and Kannada movies. Kaniha made her debut in the 2002 Tamil film ''Five ...
,
Jagadish
P. V. Jagadish Kumar (born 12 June 1955) known mononymously as Jagadish, is an Indian actor, screenwriter, television presenter and former politician. He has starred in over 375 Malayalam films and 2 Hindi films. He is best known for his comi ...
,
Mallika Sukumaran
Mohamallika Pillai (born 4 November 1954), better known as Mallika Sukumaran is an Indian actress and businesswoman, known for her works in Malayalam cinema. She debuted in 1974 with the Malayalam film '' Utharayanam'' by G. Aravindan. Since t ...
and
Soubin Shahir
Soubin Shahir (born 12 October 1983) is an Indian actor and director who works in Malayalam cinema. He began his film career as an assistant director in 2003 and worked under several directors. Soubin made his acting debut in 2013 with a suppo ...
in supporting roles. The songs and background score for the film were composed by
Deepak Dev
Deepak Devraj Komath (born 30 April 1978), better known as Deepak Dev, is an Indian music composer, best known for his compositions in Malayalam cinema. He started his career in the Film Industry through the movie ''Chronic Bachelor'' (2003) di ...
.
Principal photography began on 15 July 2021 in
Hyderabad
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...
,
Telangana
Telangana (; , ) is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian subcontinent, Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India b ...
. Filming lasted 44 days, concluding on 6 September 2021. ''Bro Daddy'' released on
Disney+ Hotstar
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
on 26 January 2022.
Plot
The plot focuses on two affluent Christian families in
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
: John Kattadi is the owner of Kattadi
TMT Steel bar
A steel bar, commonly referred to as a "steel", but also referred to as a tone bar, slide bar, guitar slide, slide, or bottleneck, is a smooth hard object which is pressed against strings to play steel guitar and is itself the origin of the ...
s, a business which he has inherited from his late father Chacko Kattadi, a successful businessman and also was the founder of the steel company. His wife Annamma is a homemaker and son Eesho is a sought-after
creative director
A creative director (or creative supervisor) is a person who makes high-level creative decisions and, with those decisions, oversees the creation of creative assets such as advertisements, products, events, or logos. Creative director positions ar ...
at a leading
advertising company
An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency or an ad agency, is a business dedicated to creating, planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its clients. An ad agency is generally ...
in
Bangalore
Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
. John's childhood friend Kurian Maliekkal is a
self-made man
"Self-made man" is a classic phrase coined on February 2, 1842 by Henry Clay in the United States Senate, to describe individuals whose success lay within the individuals themselves, not with outside conditions. Benjamin Franklin, one of the Foun ...
who grew from humble beginnings and runs an advertisement company. His wife Elsy is also a homemaker, and they have a daughter Anna, who works at an
IT company in Bangalore.
Kurian has a history with Annamma; when he proposed to her, her father despised him for being a "''
nouveau riche
''Nouveau riche'' (; ) is a term used, usually in a derogatory way, to describe those whose wealth has been acquired within their own generation, rather than by familial inheritance. The equivalent English term is the "new rich" or "new money" ( ...
''" and chased him by
unleashing their dog. He sometimes reminisces about this
unrequited love
Unrequited love or one-sided love is love that is not openly reciprocated or understood as such by the beloved. The beloved may not be aware of the admirer's deep and pure affection, or may consciously reject it. The Merriam Webster Online Dic ...
and names his daughter after her. Nevertheless, the Kattadi and Maliekkal families are now family friends and share a good bond. Though both John's and Kurian's families are settled in
Kochi
Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...
city, their roots are in
Kottayam
Kottayam () is a municipal town in the Indian state of Kerala. Flanked by the Western Ghats on the east and the Vembanad Lake and paddy fields of Kuttanad on the west. It is the district headquarters of Kottayam district, located in south-we ...
.
The families meet at the
wedding reception
A wedding reception is a party usually held after the completion of a marriage ceremony as hospitality for those who have attended the wedding, hence the name reception: the couple ''receive'' society, in the form of family and friends, for t ...
of their friend Dr. Samuel's daughter. Samuel's son-in-law, Dr. Cyril plans to establish a
maternity hospital
A maternity hospital specializes in caring for women during pregnancy and childbirth. It also provides care for newborn infants, and may act as a centre for clinical training in midwifery and obstetrics. Formerly known as lying-in hospitals, most o ...
network
Network, networking and networked may refer to:
Science and technology
* Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects
* Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks
Mathematics
...
across India. Kurian hopes to grab its
advertising campaign
An advertising campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication (IMC). An IMC is a platform in which a group of people can group their ideas, beliefs, and conc ...
and presses Samuel.It's after a long time that Eesho and Anna are meeting up with their families. Kurian offers his company's creative director's position to Eesho, but Eesho rejects it. However, Elsy and Annamma are impressed by the kids and they think that the two of them would be a good pair. Annamma proposes this to John and Eesho, but Eesho rejects it as Anna and his mother has the same name and when he calls it both will respond and that it might create a confusion, to which John laughs. Elsy's proposal is also declined by Kurian and Anna. Eesho and Anna return to Bangalore, where it is revealed that Eesho and Anna are leading a
live-in relationship
Cohabitation is an arrangement where people who are not married, usually couples, live together. They are often involved in a romantic or sexually intimate relationship on a long-term or permanent basis. Such arrangements have become increas ...
and it has been going on for a few years. As Eesho and Anna are enjoying their moments, John and Annamma are also enjoying a happy moment.
Things take a turn when Eesho and Anna learn about Anna's pregnancy. Eesho initially enquires about abortion procedures but since Anna is against it, they finally decide to proceed. Now they are in a dilemma on informing their parents. Unexpectedly Eesho is called by John to reach Kerala at once. At home, he is greeted with the news of his mother's pregnancy, which baffles Eesho. He pushes them for abortion, but they decide to keep it. Eesho informs Anna as well about this news. She asks Eesho to tell his parents about her pregnancy along the lines "He committed the same mistake as John" and affirms that there won't be any shocks in this case. John also tasks Eesho with informing their pregnancy to his mother. John and his family arrive at his ancestral home at
Kottayam
Kottayam () is a municipal town in the Indian state of Kerala. Flanked by the Western Ghats on the east and the Vembanad Lake and paddy fields of Kuttanad on the west. It is the district headquarters of Kottayam district, located in south-we ...
for attending the
baptism
Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...
of his brother's child. Kurian and Elsy also arrive there as invitees much to the shock of Eesho, who was planning to reveal everything to John and was not expecting Kurian there. 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 Kurian's clothes, much to the anger of Kurian. Meanwhile, John's mother figures out that Annamma is pregnant and welcomes them. After multiple failed attempts, Eesho confronts John and discloses the matter, which really 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 his friend Jameskutty that Eesho was in a live-in relationship and his pregnant partner was packed off by John. He didn't realise that the girl who was pregnant is Anna. Shocked and enraged, Kurien breaks his friendship with John. When he finds that Anna had gone to meet Eesho, and he goes with Elsy to catch them.
John and Annamma arrives to tell Eesho and Anna that Kurian misunderstood them and John tries many attempts to reveal the truth, but Kurian didn't allow him to say. 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 herself who is pregnant with Eesho's child. At the same time, Elsy, Annamma and John say that they knew the truth and feared how to disclose it. Heartbroken and tricked by his own family, Kurian leaves, but gradually copes up with reality and pardons Anna for tricking him. Eesho presents a catchy ad concept to 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.
Cast
*
Mohanlal
Mohanlal Viswanathan (born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor, film producer, playback singer, film distributor, and director who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically appeare ...
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
Prithviraj Sukumaran (born 16 October 1982) is an Indian actor, director, producer and playback singer primarily working in Malayalam cinema. He has also done Tamil, Telugu and Hindi films. He acted in more than 100 films in a variety of rol ...
as Eesho John Kattadi, a creative director in an advertising company based in
Bangalore
Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
, John's and Annamma's son, later Anna's husband
*
Lalu Alex
Lalu Alex is an Indian actor who works in Malayalam cinema. In a career spanning four decades, Lalu Alex has acted over 250 movies and is known for his character roles, comic roles and antagonistic roles in Malayalam movie industry.
Lalu Alex ...
as Kurian G. Maliekkal, Owner of Maliekkal advertising company, Anna's father and Elsy's husband
*
Meena
Meena () is a sub-group of Bhils. They speak Meena language. They started adopting the Brahmin worship system. Its name is also transliterated as ''Meenanda'' or ''Mina''. Historians claim that they belong to the Matsya tribe. They got the sta ...
as Annamma John Kattadi, John's wife and Eesho's mother (Voiceover by
Devi
Devī (; Sanskrit: देवी) is the Sanskrit word for 'goddess'; the masculine form is ''deva''. ''Devi'' and ''deva'' mean 'heavenly, divine, anything of excellence', and are also gender-specific terms for a deity in Hinduism.
The conce ...
S)
*
Kalyani Priyadarshan
Kalyani Priyadarshan (born 5 April 1993) is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ...
as Anna Kurian, an IT professional based in
Bangalore
Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
, Kurian's and Elsy's daughter, later Eesho's wife
*
Kaniha
Divya Venkatasubramaniam, better known by her stage name Kaniha or Kanika, is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema along with a few Tamil, Telugu and Kannada movies. Kaniha made her debut in the 2002 Tamil film ''Five ...
as Elsy Kurian, Kurian's wife and Anna's mother
*
Jagadish
P. V. Jagadish Kumar (born 12 June 1955) known mononymously as Jagadish, is an Indian actor, screenwriter, television presenter and former politician. He has starred in over 375 Malayalam films and 2 Hindi films. He is best known for his comi ...
as
Dr.
Doctor is an academic title that originates from the Latin word of the same spelling and meaning. The word is originally an agentive noun of the Latin verb 'to teach'. It has been used as an academic title in Europe since the 13th century, w ...
Samuel Mathew, Cyril's Father-in-law and John's and Kurian's friend
*
Soubin Shahir
Soubin Shahir (born 12 October 1983) is an Indian actor and director who works in Malayalam cinema. He began his film career as an assistant director in 2003 and worked under several directors. Soubin made his acting debut in 2013 with a suppo ...
as Happy Pinto, a
wedding planner
A wedding planner is a professional who assists with the design, planning and management of a client's wedding. Weddings are significant events in people's lives and as such, couples are often willing to spend considerable amount of money to en ...
*
Unni Mukundan
Unnikrishnan Mukundan (born 22 September 1987), commonly known as Unni Mukundan, is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. He has also acted in a few Telugu and Tamil films.
Unni Mukundan made his acting debut with the Ta ...
as
Dr.
Doctor is an academic title that originates from the Latin word of the same spelling and meaning. The word is originally an agentive noun of the Latin verb 'to teach'. It has been used as an academic title in Europe since the 13th century, w ...
Cyril, Samuel's son-in-law
*
Mallika Sukumaran
Mohamallika Pillai (born 4 November 1954), better known as Mallika Sukumaran is an Indian actress and businesswoman, known for her works in Malayalam cinema. She debuted in 1974 with the Malayalam film '' Utharayanam'' by G. Aravindan. Since t ...
as John's mother and Eesho's grandmother
*
Charle
Velmurugan Thangasamy Manohar (born 6 March 1960), professionally credited as Charle, is an Indian actor who works in Tamil cinema. He has acted in more than 800 Tamil films as a comedian and supporting actor. He was named after the English co ...
as Venkayya, Eesho's and Anna's neighbour in
Bangalore
Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
*
Antony Perumbavoor
Malekudy Joseph Antony, better known as Antony Perumbavoor is an Indian film producer, Film distributor, distributor, movie theatre, cinema exhibitor and actor, who works in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam film industry. He began his career as a ch ...
as
SI Antony Joseph
*
Nikhila Vimal
Nikhila Vimal is a South Indian actress who predominantly works in Malayalam film industry and has acted in a few Tamil and Telugu films.
She debuted in Tamil with the film ''Vetrivel'' (2016), playing the role of Latha. She went on to appea ...
as a nurse (Cameo)
*
Jaffar Idukki
Jaffar Idukki is an Indian actor, impressionist, and comedian, who predominantly works in the Malayalam cinema. Started his career with the 2007 film ''Kaiyoppu'', he has acted in about hundred films and has performed in a number of comedy sta ...
as
Fr. Edward Kulathakkal, church vicar
* Salam Bhukari as Pinto's assistant
*
Dinesh Prabhakar
Dinesh Prabhakar, also known by his birth name Dinesh Nair, is an Indian actor who predominantly appears in Malayalam films.
Early life
Dinesh was born as the second child of Prabhakaran Nair and Sarojini Amma at Pulluvazhi, Perumbavoor, Ern ...
as James Kutty, Kurian's family friend
*
Sijoy Varghese
Sijoy Varghese (born 6 March 1971) is an Indian actor and advertising filmmaker. He has been involved in advertising and cinema for 20 years. As an actor he has portrayed characters in Malayalam films including: Bangalore Days, Avatharam, Jam ...
as Paul, Eesho's boss
*
Muthumani
Muthumani Somasundaran is an Indian actress who mainly works in Malayalam films. She made her cinematic debut through the Malayalam film ''Rasathanthram'' directed by Sathyan Anthikkad's in 2006.
Early life and education
Muthumani was born in ...
as Dr. Archana Menon, a
gynecologist
Gynaecology or gynecology (see spelling differences) is the area of medicine that involves the treatment of women's diseases, especially those of the reproductive organs. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, forming the combined area ...
*
Sohan Seenulal
Sohanlal.P.S (born 18 December 1978), better known by his screen name Sohan Seenulal, is an Indian film director, screen writer, and actor who works in Malayalam cinema . He is known for his character roles in Mammootty films.
Career
He start ...
as Kurian's office manager
*
Kavya Shetty
Kavya Shetty is an Indian actress and model who primarily appears in Kannada films. She made her acting debut in 2013 with the Kannada film '' Nam Duniya Nam Style'' directed by Preetham Gubbi.
Early life
Shetty was born Mangalore, Karnataka ...
as Susan Mathews, Eesho's colleague
* Thumboor Shibu
*
Sukumaran
Edappal Ponnamkuzhi Veettil Parameswaran Sukumaran Nair (10 June 1948 – 16 June 1997), known mononymously as Sukumaran, was an Indian actor and producer of Malayalam films. Sukumaran became a popular film star in Malayalam cinema during the 1 ...
as Chacko Kattadi, John's late father, the founder of Kattadi TMT Steel Bars Company (photo presence only)
Production
Development
''Empuraan'' was supposed to be
Prithviraj Sukumaran
Prithviraj Sukumaran (born 16 October 1982) is an Indian actor, director, producer and playback singer primarily working in Malayalam cinema. He has also done Tamil, Telugu and Hindi films. He acted in more than 100 films in a variety of rol ...
's second directorial, sequel to his debut film ''
Lucifer
Lucifer is one of various figures in folklore associated with the planet Venus. The entity's name was subsequently absorbed into Christianity as a name for the devil. Modern scholarship generally translates the term in the relevant Bible passage ...
'' (2019).
On 16 June 2021, Prithviraj revealed via
Instagram
Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
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
Mohanlal Viswanathan (born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor, film producer, playback singer, film distributor, and director who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically appeare ...
in the title role and produced by
Antony Perumbavoor
Malekudy Joseph Antony, better known as Antony Perumbavoor is an Indian film producer, Film distributor, distributor, movie theatre, cinema exhibitor and actor, who works in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam film industry. He began his career as a ch ...
for
Aashirvad Cinemas
Aashirvad Cinemas is an Indian film production company based in Kochi, Kerala. It was established in 2000 by Antony Perumbavoor, since then, it has produced over 30 Malayalam films, starring Mohanlal. Since 2009, the company co-operates with th ...
, 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
Kalyani Priyadarshan (born 5 April 1993) is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ...
,
Meena
Meena () is a sub-group of Bhils. They speak Meena language. They started adopting the Brahmin worship system. Its name is also transliterated as ''Meenanda'' or ''Mina''. Historians claim that they belong to the Matsya tribe. They got the sta ...
,
Lalu Alex
Lalu Alex is an Indian actor who works in Malayalam cinema. In a career spanning four decades, Lalu Alex has acted over 250 movies and is known for his character roles, comic roles and antagonistic roles in Malayalam movie industry.
Lalu Alex ...
,
Murali Gopy
Gopynathan Velayudhan Nair Muralikrishnan (born 4 March 1972), professionally credited as Murali Gopy, is an Indian actor-screenwriter, producer, author, singer, lyricist, music composer and journalist. He has written critically acclaimed films ...
,
Kaniha
Divya Venkatasubramaniam, better known by her stage name Kaniha or Kanika, is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema along with a few Tamil, Telugu and Kannada movies. Kaniha made her debut in the 2002 Tamil film ''Five ...
, and
Soubin Shahir
Soubin Shahir (born 12 October 1983) is an Indian actor and director who works in Malayalam cinema. He began his film career as an assistant director in 2003 and worked under several directors. Soubin made his acting debut in 2013 with a suppo ...
.
[ Prithviraj called ]Unni Mukundan
Unnikrishnan Mukundan (born 22 September 1987), commonly known as Unni Mukundan, is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. He has also acted in a few Telugu and Tamil films.
Unni Mukundan made his acting debut with the Ta ...
for the film while they were working on ''Bhramam
''Bhramam'' () is a 2021 Indian Malayalam-language black comedy film directed and filmed by Ravi K. Chandran. The film stars Prithviraj Sukumaran, Unni Mukundan, Mamta Mohandas, Raashii Khanna, Shankar and Jagadish. It is a remake of the 20 ...
''. He also called Jagadish
P. V. Jagadish Kumar (born 12 June 1955) known mononymously as Jagadish, is an Indian actor, screenwriter, television presenter and former politician. He has starred in over 375 Malayalam films and 2 Hindi films. He is best known for his comi ...
his other co-actor in ''Bhramam'' for a humorous role. ''Bro Daddy'' marks the Malayalam debut of Kannada actress Kavya Shetty
Kavya Shetty is an Indian actress and model who primarily appears in Kannada films. She made her acting debut in 2013 with the Kannada film '' Nam Duniya Nam Style'' directed by Preetham Gubbi.
Early life
Shetty was born Mangalore, Karnataka ...
and Tamil actor Charle
Velmurugan Thangasamy Manohar (born 6 March 1960), professionally credited as Charle, is an Indian actor who works in Tamil cinema. He has acted in more than 800 Tamil films as a comedian and supporting actor. He was named after the English co ...
. Prithviraj's mother Mallika Sukumaran
Mohamallika Pillai (born 4 November 1954), better known as Mallika Sukumaran is an Indian actress and businesswoman, known for her works in Malayalam cinema. She debuted in 1974 with the Malayalam film '' Utharayanam'' by G. Aravindan. Since t ...
was cast in the film as Mohanlal
Mohanlal Viswanathan (born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor, film producer, playback singer, film distributor, and director who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically appeare ...
'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
A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, or ...
due to the restrictions pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. Hence, they decided to move ahead with ''Bro Daddy''. However, ''Bro Daddy'' was denied permission to shoot in Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
, 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
Location scouting is a vital process in the pre-production stage of filmmaking and commercial photography. Once scriptwriters, producers or directors have decided what general kind of scenery they require for the various parts of their work t ...
was complete by early July. Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
began on 15 July 2021 in Hyderabad
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...
, Telangana
Telangana (; , ) is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian subcontinent, Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India b ...
. First day of shoot took place at an IT Park
An industrial park (also known as industrial estate, trading estate) is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more "heavyweight" version of a business park or office 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
''Abinandhan Ramanujam'' is an Indian cinematographer who hails from Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He is working in Malayalam, Tamil and Hindi films.
Early life
Abinandhan Ramanujam was born in Chennai. He was graduated from L.V. Prasad Film and TV A ...
.
Music
The film's songs and background score were composed by Deepak Dev
Deepak Devraj Komath (born 30 April 1978), better known as Deepak Dev, is an Indian music composer, best known for his compositions in Malayalam cinema. He started his career in the Film Industry through the movie ''Chronic Bachelor'' (2003) di ...
. ''Bro Daddy'', the soundtrack album, marks the launch of Aashirvad Cinemas' record label
A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...
. The album contains four songs. The first single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
"Parayathe Vannen" was released online on 13 January 2022, sung by M. G. Sreekumar
Malabar Gopalan Sreekumar (born 25 May 1957), better known as M.G. Sreekumar is an Indian playback singer, composer, music producer, television presenter and film producer, who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema. He has sung more than 2000 ...
(for Mohanlal's portion) and Vineeth Sreenivasan
Vineeth Sreenivasan (born 1 October 1984) is an Indian playback singer, actor, film director, screenwriter, producer, lyricist, creative director and dubbing artist. He predominantly works in the Malayalam cinema. He is the son of actor an ...
(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
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...
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
Kattassery Joseph Yesudas (born 10 January 1940) is an Indian playback singer and musician who sings Indian classical, devotional and film songs. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of Indian Music and also as a c ...
and Vijay Yesudas
Vijay Yesudas (born 23 March 1979) is an Indian playback singer and actor. He has sung over 1000 film songs. Vijay works predominantly in the South Indian film industry, mostly in Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Hindi. He is the son of ...
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
Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...
. 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
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
on 26 January 2022.
Reception
Janani K. of ''India Today
''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' launched a new onl ...
'' 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
''Badhaai Ho'' (; ) is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language comedy drama film directed by Amit Ravindernath Sharma and produced by Sharma, Aleya Sen and Hemant Bhandari under Chrome Pictures and Vineet Jain under Junglee Pictures. It stars Ayushmann ...
'', 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
Baradwaj Rangan is an Indian film critic, writer, and formerly the deputy editor of ''The Hindu''. He later became a senior editor of Film Companion. Rangan won the National Film Award for Best Film Critic in 2006. Before joining ''The Hindu'' ...
writing for ''Film Companion
Anupama Chopra () is an Indian author, journalist, film critic and director of the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival. She is also the founder and editor of the digital platform Film Companion, which offers a curated look at cinema. She has written sev ...
'' 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
Pinkvilla is an Indian entertainment and lifestyle platform. As of June 2022, Pinkvilla has over 5,00,00,000 visitors on its website and app.
Overview
Pinkvilla covers entertainment and lifestyle stories. Its coverage extends to Bollywood, H ...
'' 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
''The Quint'' is an English and Hindi language Indian general news and opinion website founded by Raghav Bahl and Ritu Kapur after their exit from Network18. The publication's journalists have won three Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Aw ...
'' 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
''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...
'' 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
''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia.
It was founded by Sunder Singh Lyall ...
'' 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
Daggubati Suresh Babu (born 24 December 1958) is an Indian film producer, studio owner and distributor who serves as the managing director of Suresh Productions. In 2012, he received the Andhra Pradesh state Nagireddy–Chakrapani National Awa ...
talked with the makers for acquiring the Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India
*Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language
** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode
S ...
remake right of the film, which he plans with his brother Venkatesh Daggubati
Daggubati Venkatesh (born 13 December 1960) is an Indian actor known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema and a few hindi films. Venkatesh debuted with the 1986 film ''Kaliyuga Pandavulu'' for which he won his first Nandi Award. In a c ...
and son Rana Daggubati
Ramanaidu "Rana" Daggubati (; born 14 December 1984) is an Indian actor and producer known primarily for his work in Telugu language films, in addition to Hindi and Tamil languages. Rana is described as one of the few actors in India who were ...
starring.
References
External links
*
''Bro Daddy song lyrics''
{{Aashirvad Cinemas
2022 comedy-drama films
2020s Malayalam-language films
Indian comedy-drama films
Films about father–son relationships
2020s pregnancy films
Indian pregnancy films
Films about Indian weddings
Aashirvad Cinemas films
Films shot in Hyderabad, India
Films scored by Deepak Dev
Disney+ Hotstar original films