Bethlehem Kudumba Unit offers a delightful and charming cinematic experience, blending trademark humour with a sweet, unconventional love story, gushes Sreeju Sudhakaran.
IMAGE: Nivin Pauly and Mamitha Baiju in Bethlehem Kudumba Unit.
Key Points
- Girish AD’s Bethlehem Kudumba Unit is a delightful romcom that successfully blends humour with a sweet, light-hearted romance.
- The film features strong chemistry between lead actors Nivin Pauly and Mamitha Baiju, who deliver confident and engaging performances.
- The narrative, set two years in the past, explores Ashley’s crush on her older neighbour Justin, a bachelor with an aversion to marriage.
- The movie excels in its technical aspects, including Ajmal Sabu’s cinematography, Vishnu Vijay’s score, and Akash Joseph Varghese’s editing.
- Despite minor pacing issues due to certain sub-tracks, the film maintains its charm and delivers a winning experience, especially for fans of Girish AD’s previous works.
Have you ever had a moment where a movie features a scene that instantly connects with you, making you hope that you end up loving the whole film just for having that one sequence?
For me, that happened in Bethlehem Kudumba Unit when Nivin Pauly’s character played the song Yavanakathayil from the unreleased Malayalam film Anna, a favourite under-rated track of mine.
Not only does the song play again during a soft romantic moment and pop up in a cute banter, but I am also glad to say I ended up genuinely liking Girish AD’s delightful new romcom.
Cute Neighbourly Love
Bethlehem Kudumba Unit actually takes a slight deviation from the usual Girish AD playbook, starting off on a sombre note. Our heroine, Ashley (Mamitha Baiju) has returned home after two years of studying in Ireland, and she is clearly unhappy.
When her parents mention attending their neighbour’s wedding, she looks at that house wistfully, instantly telling us she has dealt with a heartbreak and the reason is next door.
Thankfully, for those expecting trademark Girish AD humour, it does not take long to get into the laughs, smiles and sweetness.
Save for the prologue and the climax, the rest of the film is set two years in the past, when Ashley and her family move to a new colony in Angamaly for her studies.
Ashley is initially upset about leaving her old home and friends, but she quickly finds her footing and makes new acquaintances. She also attracts the attention of the resident Casanova, Glikson (Roshan Shanavas).
However, it is her next-door neighbour, Justin (Nivin Pauly), who becomes the target of Ashley’s immediate crush. Justin is a bachelor in his late 30s with a strong aversion to marriage. He runs a catering service, produces short films for his younger brother Joel (Sangeeth Pratap), and is well-liked by the colony residents.
Justin soon finds out that Ashley likes him. While he is initially both conflicted and fascinated, they quickly enter a secret romantic relationship hidden from the prying eyes of their families and neighbours.
Girish AD’s Signature Humour and Charm
If you are expecting an enjoyable, light-hearted ride like Girish AD‘s previous outings Thanneer Mathan Dinangal, Super Sharanya, and Premalu, I am pretty sure you will not be disappointed with Bethlehem Kudumba Unit.
The director has a knack for finding humour in everyday interactions, using his cast’s comic timing effectively to make even the simplest comeback sound utterly hilarious.
While I generally feel that using social media references for humour is a surefire way for a movie to age poorly, Girish somehow manages to make them click. It is certainly a fun challenge to catch all the movie references and parallels, with the script playfully nodding to everything from viral trolled scenes in Hero (“Ayyappa!”, “Kettopozhe charge aayi!”) to Kantara‘s transformation scene (the same scene also reminded me of Nerariyan CBI, so I want to believe the director went with both references).
Every supporting character gets their moment to shine, be it Glikson’s desperate attempts to woo Ashley, Baiju’s (Suresh Krishna) ridiculously dated ideas, or the Moreli sisters and their drunken sleepover.
A Sweet Central Romance
Right in the middle of all this fun sits a sweet and likeable central romance. It develops smoothly without excessive dramatics, anchored by the tremendous chemistry between Nivin Pauly and Mamitha Baiju that take no notice of their age-gap.
Interestingly, Mamitha starred in another age-gap romance just a week prior in the Tamil film Vishwanath And Sons. In that enjoyable feel-good entertainer, the hero was similarly adamant about avoiding marriage due to past baggage.
And yet, Mamitha’s character and the overall approach to the romance are quite different here. Sure, both Maddy (her role in Vishwanath and Sons) and Ashley are unapologetic about falling for an older guy. But while Maddy was vivacious and spunky, Ashley is a literal girl-next-door who just happens to be incredibly confident about her feelings and is wary of her family.
Her attraction to Justin is also far more spontaneous, starting with Justin being the very first person she spots outside her new bedroom window, followed by the discovery that he shares her love for an under-rated band (The Breeders).
This circles back to my opening point about sharing a love with the movie for that Anna song. Sometimes, one tiny connection is all you need to develop something much deeper. The screenplay by Girish AD and Kiran Josey pulls this off beautifully.
Every moment between Ashley and Justin is charming and adorable, with my absolute favourite being the car sequence where Ashley finally gets Justin to reciprocate her feelings.
Pacing and Technical Brilliance
The second half also packs in quite a few sweet moments as the couple tries to hide their romance from the neighbourhood. However, there is a slight dip in momentum, and it is surprisingly not due to the inevitable serious turn when people find out. That reveal is handled with just the right amount of tension without spilling into melodrama, and the love story wraps up neatly in a highly winsome manner.
The pacing issues actually stem from a couple of sub-tracks. While they have their funny moments, they drag the proceedings down a bit. Take the problems Joel faces from his girlfriend’s brother (a track that might incense some religiously warped minds) and the chaos that ensues that even dips into physical comedy. Or that song sequence in Goa that heavily reminded me of the Telangana Bommalu stretch in Premalu.
Except, instead of Sachin and Aadhi competing for Reenu’s affection, we get Ashley’s nosy uncle Alex (Vinay Forrt) suspiciously hovering around, trying to figure out if something is going on between her and her older neighbour.
These aren’t bad portions, and I laughed plenty here too, but there should have been a couple of snips here and there to streamline these proceedings a bit more.
Bethlehem Kudumba Unit also shines in its technical department. Ajmal Sabu’s cinematography lends a warm, vibrant quality to every frame, enjoyably elevated by Vishnu Vijay’s catchy score. While the songs are certainly pleasant, I will wait and see if they grow on me quite like his work in Premalu did.
Editor Akash Joseph Varghese brings in a few stylish flourishes without ever going overboard. I particularly loved the use of a montage in the climax that gives Justin some clarity when he is faced with a dilemma.
Enjoyable Performances From Whole Cast
As for the performances, it is a winning show all around. Between Sarvam Maya and this film, and all the misfires in between, I do not think Nivin Pauly is going to step out of the feel-good zone anytime soon.
It is a space where he commands a massive fanbase, and he is also clearly having a blast here. We get to see his old spark return, making us laugh with witty comebacks and sneaky, blushing glances.
When genre detours fail, it is always better to stick to the tried and tested. This formula is working wonders for him right now, and we are more than happy to enjoy this charming side of his performance again and again.
Mamitha Baiju is on an absolute roll, delivering back-to-back confident performances while effortlessly matching, and occasionally outshining, her veteran co-star. I absolutely loved her performance in the climax, where she confronts Justin at the wedding about his true feelings.
I am glad I do not need to single out the supporting cast because Suresh Krishna, Sangeeth Pratap, Roshan Shanavas, Srindaa, Shameer Khan, Meenakshi Raveendran, Shyam Mohan, Parvathy Ayyappadas, Jazar Clicks, and Vettukili Prakash are all thoroughly entertaining in their respective parts. While I also enjoyed Vinay Forrt’s performance, knowing how incredibly talented he is, I felt there is a certain stagnation that is coming in how he is approaching comedy roles these days.
No doubt about it, this Onam has only one clear winner, and that is Girish AD all over again!
Bethlehem Kudumba Unit Review Rediff Rating:
