Girish AD’s Bethlehem Kudumba Unit (BKU) has been winning hearts well beyond Kerala, and the latest admirer is none other than Manoj Bajpayee. The Gangs of Wasseypur actor was recently asked to name one film or show he loved watching in 2026 during an interaction at the recently concluded IFP Festival Season 16 in Mumbai. Manoj first reeled off two highly acclaimed international titles, the 2025 Norwegian drama Sentimental Value and the 2025 Spanish film Sirāt, before turning to the Nivin Pauly-Mamitha Baiju starrer.
Interestingly, BKU was the only Indian film he specifically mentioned. “I loved Sentimental Value, Sirāt... Then I liked... I keep watching films. Immediately, I cannot remember so many things. But there is a Malayalam romantic film I really liked, Bethlehem Kudumba Unit,” he said.
The film, which hit theatres on August 21 as an Onam release, has since become the highest-grossing Malayalam film worldwide and the first title to cross the ₹150 crore mark from Kerala alone. It has grossed over ₹330 crore worldwide, and it began streaming on JioHotstar on October 2.
Scripted by Girish and Kiran Josey, BKU follows Ashley (Mamitha), who falls for her older neighbour Justin (Nivin), in a blend of romance, humour and slice-of-life family drama. Dileesh Pothan, Fahadh Faasil and Syam Pushkaran produced the film under the banner of Bhavana Studios.
Meanwhile, Manoj was last seen in the Netflix film Gajat Raat.