‘Bethlehem Kudumba Unit’ review: Girish AD’s best film yet is loaded with ultra pro max feel-good entertainment

Man, how does Girish AD keep doing it? You walk into a Girish AD film, you know what to expect. He is among a rare breed of filmmakers who are totally comfortable with being within a certain bracket and keep churning out new stories that, despite comprising ingredients we have sensed in his earlier films, make them feel fresh. In that regard, he is like the younger version of Sathyan Anthikad during his peak era. They are content with where they are, and they don’t run out of ideas. The quality of a good — no, GREAT — filmmaker is his observational skills. Girish may be the most observant filmmaker in Malayalam cinema today (after Dileesh Pothan, who is the co-producer). Sometimes I envy filmmakers who make giant event blockbusters like Steven Spielberg or Christopher Nolan, and there are filmmakers like Girish AD to remind you that making a more personal, intimate film with micro details that move you requires an even bigger skill.

There’s a bit in “Bethlehem Kudumba Unit” where a brief stretch of time is spent in someone’s old home before the family moves to a new one. The film opens with this home, once occupied by Ashley (Mamitha Baiju) and her parents, as they’re in the process of figuring out what to take and what to leave behind. Girish and his cinematographer invite us to pay attention to the micro details, be it the discarding of Ashley’s old school books, her parents’ wedding certificate, which the father seems to have forgotten, or the little dialogues that give us a sense of the family dynamic.

And Girish, who has always demonstrated mastery in immersing us in the quotidian aspects of friends and families in his earlier films, takes it one step further with “Bethlehem Kudumba Unit” — his best, wholesome film yet.

There is a deeply personal reason for calling it his BEST: in all his previous films, Girish hasn’t given me a character that I could strongly relate to. Nivin Pauly’s Justin is at a certain place in his personal life that I’m in. There are thoughts I often struggle with; there are painful memories that occasionally trouble me in my solitude; there are times when I wish my life had taken a different route so that I wouldn’t have to go through so many heartbreaking episodes. Justin has been through these phases too, but in a different manner. Of course, not every aspect of this character is relatable, but almost everything is.

The concept was evident from the casting and the promos. It’s funny that we are getting two age-gap romantic dramas featuring Mamitha Baiju within a two-week gap. Well, isn’t it obvious why we are seeing her a lot these days? Because she is really good. The occasional duds notwithstanding, Mamitha’s track record has been strong lately, and “Bethlehem Kudumba Unit”, directed by the same man who gave her breakthrough role, is just another testament to her stellar adaptive abilities. I said earlier that Girish finally showed me a relatable protagonist with this film. That applies to Mamitha’s character, too.

In my review of “Vishwanath & Sons”, I mentioned my fondness for Padmarajan’s “Kanamarayathu” script (directed by I.V. Sasi), which dealt with an age-gap love story sensibly. I don’t know if Girish is a fan of that film, but you can see a few similarities in the thought processes of Mammootty’s character and Nivin's — as did Suriya in “Vishwanath & Sons; protagonists who acknowledge the awkwardness and complexities that accompany an age-gap relationship.

But unlike the Tamil film, Girish doesn’t play safe. “Bethlehem Kudumba Unit” is a better film overall. Girish has a clear idea of where he wants to take this and how to end it. He is not here to pander to any conservative or performative woke groups. The scenes of a character moving on to a new home, a new place… Suddenly, they take on a whole new meaning.

The film is loaded with feel-good vibes, and those don’t just come from the scenes involving Nivin and Mamitha. Girish has practically made an epic with numerous characters, each with their distinct personality traits and individual worlds. Even the background characters in Girish’s films make an impact — his actors have the potential to appear in more prominent roles in the future.

“Bethlehem Kudumba Unit” has plenty of laugh-out-loud moments sprinkled in the spaces uninhabited by Nivin and Mamitha. In a lesser filmmaker’s hands, these would’ve been unnecessary distractions. In Girish’s hands, though, everything is woven together to form a perfectly harmonious, symbiotic whole.

All these are enhanced further by the work of composer Vishnu Vijay, whose work sounds contemporary while also embodying the retro flavour evocative of the music in the 80s/90s Malayalam classics we grew up with (the track ‘Manthrikam Manthrikam’ has Sathyan Anthikad vibes all over), and Ajmal Sabu’s warm and inviting images that not only give us a sense of the characters’ homes but also the characteristics of the regions they’re situated in. Credit also goes, of course, to the incredible art and costume departments.

Girish even dares to go the slapstick route towards the end with a “Kantara” tribute that some may regard as unnecessary. It’s too early for me to say whether that portion could’ve been trimmed, because it didn’t bother me much. I haven’t laughed like this in a while. 

Roshan Shanavas, last seen in “Mollywood Times” as Naslen’s best friend, gets a lion’s share of hilarious situations. He is basically doing here what Maniyanpillai Raju did for the classic early comedies Priyadarshan made in Malayalam. And how lovely is it to see Suresh Krishna, who once played despicable villains, getting a chance to showcase his unexplored comic side, to impressive results. Like Roshan and Suresh, more actors (male and female) get to shine with their unique mannerisms — and tiny lines that may or may not have been last-minute improvisations — which earned waves of laughter from the audience. If I mentioned everyone’s names, this review would go on forever.

I never experienced this kind of warmth and joy from a film in a while. I never wanted to hug a film (and its makers) this badly in a while. Will I see it multiple times? You bet.

Film: Bethlehem Kudumba Unit

Director: Girish A.D.

Cast: Nivin Pauly, Mamitha Baiju, Roshan Shanavas, Sangeeth Prathap, Suresh Krishna, Vinay Fort, Srinda

Rating: 5/5