Bethelehem Kudumba Unit: A Movie Review

I'm not sure if I've ever done a review for a malayalam movie before.

But here it goes;

I watched this movie on October 3rd, afternoon. I was excited to see a Nivin Pauly film. Did I like the movie. Meh. Did I enjoy watching the movie---Absolutely.

After his return, Ashley's life is disrupted by the politics of a Catholic parish committee. Meanwhile, he falls for a younger woman but their relationship sparks a chaotic resistance from the elders. [GOOGLE]

BKU is rom-com, a genre malayalam audience and film directors have started to embrace very recently. The main trope here is---Age Gap. 

A trope that puts me on a very tough position to like a movie.

Ashley and her family moves into a neighbourhood that calls themselves as "Bethelehem Kudumba Unit" ie, Bethelehem Family Unit. Ashley's in her mid twenties and Justin is in his mid thirty's. The movie confirms a 12-13 years of age gap between them. Justin hasn't married or been in a relationship for nearly or maybe a bit over twenty years. 

Ashley, who was insecure about leaving her home and hometown and move into a very new place, finds Justin as her safety net. A charming, respectful, funny guy who is a darling to everyone in his neighbourhood. He's instantly a trustable, befriendable, kindred soul to Ashley. And Justin found himself getting closer and closer to her until the point that he was forced to confront his feelings. 

Justin being the good guy he is, understands that the age-barrier is a serious issue. And in an age where grooming is a trend, Justin's asking Ashley to back out of it. He tells her that she would forget it. And only when she restates herself does he finally confess too. Justin respects the community and it's old standards and tries to abide by them whereas we see Ashley being forced to abide by them. 

Ashley is a sweet sorts of person with an equally appreciative humor to match Justin's. She's the eldest daughter in a very conservative family and we see her try to establish herself as an individual in her family and in the world. She's trying to prove herself. The expectations that falls on an eldest daughter in Kerala, the very obstacles thrown in her path by the same people who set expectations on her---it was very relatable to me. She tries not to care. And then there she is---caring the most. 

I'd like to give Girish AD a standing ovation for the correct execution he was able to bring when it came to the characters' personalities. Each character was crafted to perfection. But here, I'll just mention our hero and heroine. Both were individuals who fell in love eventually, realized and accepted the consequences, allowed each other to grow and appreciate each other. They both cared for each other and they both knew that the other person cared, even when they didn't show it. 

The Age Gap between them is a barrier---but when both these individuals are able to find a bridge to connect the rivers of different times, we see that they just make sense. 

They were very honest about it. And they both took up the courage to choose each other. 

The elders, especially, Ashley's family freaks out. And even though Justin loves her and cares so much about her, we see a part of him that would rather respect her, her age and her family. That comes from something pure. And when Ashley takes the courage to let herself claim the power over herself, to not let anything make her second guess---we see it come from something pure too.

Despite this part of romance, I don't want to explain the "com" in "rom-com". It's Nivin Pauly and Girish AD together, you can expect the best when it comes to that. But even as the jokes kept getting better and better, we see bits of them tell us a relatable story, bits that can crush our conservative mindsets, bits that tells us how good it's to be a UNIT.

The world's changing. People can trust little and little every day. People can't even talk to their neighbours these days. But BKU highlights again---the importance of community, harmony and unity. 

Age Gap is always concerning to me. Even here, it was---I'm not going to lie. But it takes a lot to find real human connections. And sometimes you might connect with a much older or much younger person. Wheather that's okay or not---is not just about the age gap, it's about personality-gap. They both found each other as a safety net. They both knew they could fall. Like I said, Justin was her safety net and Ashley was his.

 It wasn't an infatuation. It was more like an actual connection. 

It's an enjoyable movie. I wouldn't have wanted to miss it. And maybe some evening after an exhausted day, I'd like to see BKU again when I change channels in the TV.

Always a Nivin Pauly fan. He nailed some of that awkward scenes. He was able to portray a guy who was trying to confess his feelings---something that guy hasn't ever done and he's almost 40-ish. When Justin went "I can't stop thinking about you", it wasn't some sorts of breathless, love eyed, SRK style. It was a genuine man who blurted that couple of words whilst he tried to process that they both had feelings for each other but this was forbidden. The movie screamed Nivin Pauly. Romance, Comedy, Fights---that sorts of Banter---I'm glad to see this guy more in movies.

Mamitha Baiju was excellent as always. She was able to give Ashley a sorts of personality that didn't make her look like an idiot girl falling for an older guy for fun. She delivered perfectly. I can't imagine someone else doing it. It could be debatable but really, NO---she was a natural Ashley.

There are times when some actors are wrong for some characters but this was---perfect.

Sanjay Prathap, Roshan Shanavas, Bindu Panicker, Srinda, Meenaksi Ravindran, Vineeth Vishwam were some faces that I liked to see.

Suresh Krishna and Vinay Forrt were two actors that were irreplaceable. I mean, these characters only have personalities because of them. At some point I even wanted to kill Alex(Vinay Forrt) myself. It would have been a huge hole if they weren't there.

Shyam Mohan--- I knew his character would rock. He nailed the role. There's no one else who could have done it better. He was the element of humour in the second half.

Lastly, one of my favorite internet faces right now, Jaazar Clickz, BoatMon was a face I loved to see too. They should have used his accent more!

A 5/5 from me.

I don't want to complain about anything in this movie:)

Please tell me if I should rather be a film critic:)

 

Rida, AKA SeñoRida, is a 2010-born girly. Her hobbies include reading, writing, and fan-girling. She is obsessed with fried chicken, purple, and books. She’s never a follower but a fan, and she believes that’s how it’s supposed to be. She’s an ordinary human who wants to do extraordinary things.Her debut novel, This Ends This Summer is a coming of age, swoon worthy, heart melting romance that you must not miss because the love she writes, is a holy trinity of respect, trust and hope and life is lived if we live for love!

Social media links; Instagram: @rida.senorida Blog: spotforyoubyme.blogspot.com