There was a time when slapstick was fun. Because the story was carved out in a way to comfort this slapstick. However, times have changed, but the notions haven't.
Glamboy Mammootty plays Bhaskar, a short-tempered single father of an over-smart Y-generation son. On the other hand, Nayanthara plays a single mother of an over-smart Y-generation daughter. Their differences have kept them apart and now their children are trying to patch them up so that they become a single happy family. While there is no believability in the story, the plot strictly depends upon humor and pieces of drama to stay afloat.
The first twenty minutes are basically smug people walking around in crisp, tailored costumes. With a lot of stunt sequences to clatter its audience's senses, the film is divided into two parts with respect to the interval. And if one succeeds in passing the first half, the second half will not be a struggle. Roping in Isha Talwar for a cameo shows us what level the film is at, gasping for breath. And she is sort of catalyst that drives the film, somewhat somewhere.
Mixing a family drama with a ting of crime rots the whole setup and ends up as a below average entertainer. Awful editing, average dialogs, and boring songs are the parameters you will have to struggle with if you find the first half boring. Mammooty is so glamorous, his performance is only second to it. Nayanthara is fine. The writers' notion that comedy will single-handedly drive a film is the reason the film blows apart.
Every major character addressing other characters as their mummies or daddies is the best unintended humor the film offers. If you can catch that, then a 3/10 rating sounds justified. The trio of Harishri Asokan, Kalabhavan Shajon, and Saju Navodaya is the source of comedy and slapstick and the only factor that kept me from walking out.
BOTTOM LINE: Siddique's Bhaskar The Rascal is a calculated attempt at boring people with a wicked plot that unfolds slower than a caterpillar metamorphoses into a butterfly.
Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YES
