Bro Daddy Review : A fairy-tale family film

Story: John Kattady and his wife Annamma think about marrying off their son Eesho to Anna, who is the daughter of their long-time family friend Kurien. Eesho and Anna don’t act too impressed with each other, despite their parents’ interest in the alliance. Little do the families know what is going on behind the curtains in their lives.

Review: Right from its promos, Bro Daddy has been giving the vibes of an aesthetically shot high-class family comedy drama, rich with opulent settings, a Kottayam Christian background and some buoyant characters. Offering an extended fairy-tale version of the same, the movie is quite eager to entertain through every inch of it, through its 2.5 hours plus running time.

Though the parents of Eesho (Prithviraj Sukumaran) and Anna (Kalyani Priyadarshan) have been friends for years and are eager to get their children married to each other, the youngsters aren’t too keen to do the same. Eesho’s dad John (Mohanlal) also feels that his son can’t impress Kurien (Lalu Alex), Anna’s father, as a son-in-law. However, both the families are in the dark regarding how the youngsters’ lives are in Bengaluru, where both of them work.

Thanks to its talented cast, 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.

On and off, there are moments when one feels like being on a luxury home tour, as the film navigates through situations with hardly any depth. From some of the too-good-to-be true character portrayals to extremely predictable dialogues – including the ones in the climax – the movie also makes one wonder whether any thought was put into adding novelty into the content. Soubin Shahir’s character tries hard to force laughter into the mess, but often fails. The film’s duration can come across as lengthy, especially in those portions where one can clearly foresee the outcome – like the hospital scene involving the characters of Mohanlal, Lalu Alex and Jagadish.

The fans of the leading actors looking for some age-old lightweight entertainment in a Kerala Christian setting can give the film a watch.