'Bro Daddy' review: Of life's fun, mirth, joys and familial bonds

Prithviraj Sukumaran directorial 'Bro Daddy' starring Mohanlal is an out-and-out fun movie that portrays the beauty of relationships. Riding on a smooth track, 'Bro Daddy' presents nothing new in terms of the premise but casts a fresh spell of mirth through the prism of human bonding; whether it's friendship, love or filial attachment.

John Kattadi (Mohanlal) is a businessman in Kerala who trades steel. He and his wife Annamma (Meena) have a son, Esho (Prithviraj), who works in an advertising company in Bengaluru. The story revolves around two families of John Kattadi and his close friend Kurian Maliekkal (Lalu Alex), his wife Elsie (Kaniha) and daughter Anna (Kalyani Priyadarshan). The promos of the movie have already given hints of the equations and the story is all about how they are hurtled into a quagmire and whether they can wriggle out of the complex situations or not.

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.

Prithviraj and Mohanlal are teaming up after the super hit movie 'Lucifer' and Mohanlal, reprising the character of John Kattadi, effortlessly juggles with expressions and handles situations in style, that has been characteristic of him and missing for quite some time now. The movie showcases the vibrancy and comic timings of vintage Mohanlal.

Playing John Kattadi's son Esho, Prithviraj, who is a proven master in expressing deep emotions, displays an exceptional poise in comic timings in 'Bro Daddy'. After 'Lucifer', the film also marks his steep climb as a brilliant director.

Meena, who dons the role of John Kattadi's wife, exudes the charm and radiance the character weaves in the movie. After a hiatus, Lalu Alex is at his zealous best and Kalyani Priyadarshan pulls off her role as Anna with elan. Mallika Sukumaran as Ammachi (John Kattadi's mother) essays her character with finesse.

Those who strictly believe that cinema means only deeper connotations, may just avoid it because 'Bro Daddy' exhibits a great deal of flamboyance and elitist hues. It's a lifestyle dwelt upon by the upper-middle class. However, there is enough thunderous comic banters that might trigger loud guffaws and also moments to move you to deeper senses.

Jagadish as Dr. Samuel, Soubin Shahir as Happy Pinto, Unni Mukundan as Cyril, Kavya Shetty as Susan Mathews, Jaffar Idukki as Fr. Edward Kulathakkal and Sijoy Varghese as Reuben contribute immensely to the well-defined narrative.

Abinandhan Ramanujam's brilliance with the camera comes to the fore as he captures each nuance of the tale and its characters. Akhilesh Mohan's editing has ensured the marvellous flow of the saga. Meanwhile, Deepak Dev strives to keep his score ingrained in the story rather than make it stand apart.

The reason why 'Bro Daddy' stands out as a feel-good movie is that it's a celebration of life or maybe it displays only that side of it. The movie is streaming on Disney + Hotstar.