Bhaskar the Rascal

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

With 25 years in film industry, with a record of making all his films the top box office grossers, director Siddique has yet again delivered a knock-out comedy with a strong backing of a good story and an awesome cast.

The movie jumps from one sequence to another without waiting to describe too much of each situation, leaving the viewers to their logic.

Like all Siddique movies, this movie too keeps the viewers engaged by telling a serious story in a humorous way.

The film explores the minds of young kids, and their feelings have been interestingly shown without adding any drama. A daughter who finds the warmth of a father in her friend's dad and a son who feels the love of a mother in his friend's mom are portrayed beautifully.

And it keeps u guessing what kind of feeling does Bhaskar & Hima have for each other, when the movie travels through a series of events. Without just focusing on only the main characters, the film is elaborate with many other interesting characters, which makes the movie fully packed, engaging and interesting.

A fresh Siddique movie again! A Must Watch!

Such a poor movie that takes undue advantage of the family audience's longing weakness for a 'festival entertainer' :) How else could one explain the 'hit' status of this movie that has a pathetic plot, a lead hero who is at-least 20 years older than the role demands, 'real tragedy' in the name of comedy, a frustrating set of sequences one after the other and a hell lot of un-necessary drama.

Siddique might end up making a lot of money with this hit and the remakes that will follow in the other languages ; But the man,who gave us the all-time entertainers in the 90's we still cherish, should feel ashamed of himself for this 'pathetic' dip in his standards smile emoticon

Chronic Bachelor and Hitler were delightful family entertainers from the combo of Megastar and Siddique that managed to make big numbers at the box office.The expectations were sky high from the successful combo on their third endeavor and is the movie worth all the expectations? The answer is a partial 'YES'.A much better movie on comparison with director's previous outing 'Ladies And Gentleman','Bhaskar The Rascal' is a watchable family entertainer with a really engaging first half,a passable second half and a poorly conceived climax.

The screenplay written by Siddique himself had numerous moments to chill-out in the first half that we usually expect from the director.With elements of humor,action and sentiments added in adequate proportions,the first half of the movie was among the bests of 2015 and gave good buildup for the second half.But sadly,the post interval part was much below the expectations and failed to carry the momentum that the first offered.

The screen presence of Mammookka and some good performance from the cast saved the movie up-to an extent,but a poor and done to death climax spoiled what could have been a really lovable family entertainer.Had a bit more care been taken to present the second half in a better way,the result could have been a much better experience.Even though the movie is labeled as a family entertainer there are enough and more sequences to satisfy the die-hards of the Megastar looking for some powerful dialogs and action sequences from their favorite hero.

Humor element lead by the trio of Harisree Ashokan,Saju Navodaya and Kalabhavan Shajon was good through the first hour but couldn't make much impact on scenes post the interval.There were lot of unwanted loud comedies and mockery which could have been easily avoided to shorten the duration of the movie.The climax portions were handled amateurish and too substandard considering the mastery of a director like Siddique,who has given some of the most influential climaxes in the history of Malayalam cinema.

Coming to the performances,Mammooka was at his best portraying the character of Bhaskar with immense energy and powerful dialog delivery.Looking handsome as always its Mammookka's screen presence that saved the movie up-to an extent when the screenplay failed to generate the necessary thrills towards the second half.Nayan Thara did her part well and was convincing in her role.Baby Anika and Master Sanoop were lovable and gave good performances.J.D.Chakravarthy was impressive,but his dubbing could have been dealt better.Among others,Janrdhanan was good where as Harisree Ashokan,Kalabhavan Shajon etc couldn't shine much with their comedy numbers..

Music and Score by Deepak Dev was good and all the songs were picturized well.Visuals by Vijay Ulaganath was colorful.Cuts by K.R.Gowri Shanker could have been better and more careful trimming could have created better results on the screen.There were lot of lengthy unwanted sequences which could have been easily chopped off while in the editing table.

Overall,Bhaskar The Rascal is a watchable feel-good movie that can turn a decent watch if you go with zero expectations.

Verdict::Bhaskar The Rascal had all the elements in store for producing a really engrossing family entertainer,but ended as a watchable affair,the major reason being a strictly average second half and a poorly presented climax.Not a must watch,but a watchable entertainer for the families.

Plus: 1. Mammooty 2. Nayanthara 3. Sanoop 4. Anika 5. Songs Minus: 1. Saju navodaya, harisree ashokan and shajohn comedy 2. Villain track 3. Packaging 4. Laughable climax 5. Editing Verdict: Mammooty who didn't get an opportunity to showcase his comic side in his last two films with siddique gets to show it fully in Bhaskar the rascal. But siddique fails to make it a well packaged family entertainer like Hitler and chronic bachelor.