PremiumBro Daddy preview: All you need to know about Mohanlal, Prithviraj Sukumaran’s feel-good family entertainer
The movie, which also has Kalyani Priyadarshan, Meena, Soubin Shahir and Lalu Alex, marks Prithviraj’s second directorial venture
Last Updated: 11.57 AM, Jan 24, 2022
The expectations are always high when Mollywood superstars Mohanlal and Prithviraj Sukumaran team up for a film. And this seems to have only heightened since their last outing together, Lucifer, broke all box office records in Malayalam. In fact, if all went according to plan, Prithviraj would have indeed been busy with Lucifer’s sequel Empuraan now, but instead the pandemic has forced the team to look at a different direction in Bro Daddy, a direct-to-OTT release on Disney+ Hotstar that has the actor-director stepping out of his comfort zone to helm a full-on feel-good family comedy entertainer with an ensemble cast.
How did Bro Daddy come together?
As mentioned earlier, Mohanlal and Prithviraj were set to team up for Empuraan in 2020, but the pandemic had delayed the project, which required several foreign locations. Prithviraj in an earlier interview with OTTplay had told us that he was looking forward to seeing a “happy film”, something that could put a smile on the audiences’ faces while watching them.
That’s when scriptwriters Sreejith N and Bibin Maliekal had narrated the script of Bro Daddy to him. “It really appealed to me and it made me realise how much we have missed a film like this. In my mind, it was never meant to be a huge multi-starrer or anything. I thought it was so different from what I am used to as it’s different from my first movie and my supposed second film; so, I wanted to give it a try,” he said, adding that he then narrated the script to Mohanlal, who immediately said that they were doing it.
Mohanlal, meanwhile, told us that the appeal of the Lucifer duo coming together was a major reason for them to do the film. “If you shoot a humour-driven movie with visually-pleasing aesthetics, it comes out really well. In Malayalam, we haven’t done too many movies like that, again due to the budget. Also, when people think of Mohanlal-Prithviraj combination, Lucifer comes to their mind first and that generates an interest in the audience to watch Bro Daddy. That’s the chief reason we did the same,” he said, during an interview with OTTplay.
The movie was initially set to be shot after Mohanlal had completed Jeethu Joseph’s 12th Man. However, with the Kerala government imposing restrictions after the second wave of COVID-19 cases in the State, the team had shifted the movie’s shoot to Hyderabad, where it was entirely shot.
What is the story of Bro Daddy?
While the storyline of the movie is kept under wraps, from the teasers and promo visuals that have been released, it’s clear that the comedy will revolve around the Kattadi family. Mohanlal plays John Kattadi, Meena stars as Annamma and Prithviraj essays their son Eesho John Kattadi. John runs a steel company while Eesho reportedly works in ad agency. The latter apparently falls in love with Anna (Kalyani Priyadarshan), who is the daughter of Kurian (Lalu Alex) who had feelings for Annamma years ago and was chased away by her father.
Soubin Shahir, Unni Mukundan, Kaniha, Jagadeesh, Kavya Shetty and Mallika Sukumaran are also part of the multi-starrer.
In a recent promo video, Prithviraj said that the film’s title song Vannu Pokum, which is rendered by Mohanlal and the actor-director, will feature animated visuals that evolves as if a son is turning through his flipbook. The visuals begin with a couple who get married at a very young age and have a son and lasts till he becomes a young adult.
Was Bro Daddy planned as an OTT release?
Prithviraj in an interview, ahead of Kuruthi’s release, had said that he had planned the film to be release in theatres but it was ultimately the producer’s call to decide the release platform, taking into account the pandemic.
Bro Daddy, which is produced by Aashirvad Cinemas, was confirmed as an OTT release by Mohanlal, along with Jeethu Joseph’s 12th Man. The superstar said that the production company will be taking a call on Monster and Alone’s release platforms after they gauge the situation of theatres.
While Mohanlal’s Marakkar had released in theatres in December 2021, Prithviraj is yet to have a theatrical release since the pandemic. His movies Cold Case, Kuruthi and Bhramam have all released on OTTs in India, and Bro Daddy will be his fourth direct-to-OTT release.
When and where to watch Bro Daddy?
Bro Daddy is set to drop on Disney+ Hotstar at 12am on January 26, 2022. This will be the platform’s third direct Malayalam OTT releases after Nivin Pauly’s Kanakam Kaamini Kalaham and Dileep’s Kesu Ee Veedinte Nadhan last year.