The Onam festival has gotten a tad sweeter for the makers of Nivin Pauly and Mamitha Baiju's latest film Bethlehem Kudumba Unit as the family entertainer has officially crossed the Rs 100 milestone. Released on August 21, the film, which has been running with packed audiences in several theatres, crossed the landmark within just five days, cementing its blockbuster run.
This is Nivin Pauly's second Rs 100 crore mark within a year after his last hit outing with Sarvam Maya. The Girish AD directorial is the third fastest film to reach the milestone after Empuraan and Drishyam 3. Thanks to the positive word-of-mouth reviews and ratings from critics, the film is continuing its successful run with extra shows added across Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
Bethlehem Kudumba Unit follows Ashley (Mamitha), who falls for her older neighbour Justin (Nivin), a charismatic middle-aged man around 12-13 years her senior. Set against a close-knit neighbourhood and a large family, the film blends romance, humour and slice-of-life drama.
An excerpt from our CE review of the film reads, "Nivin and Mamitha share a sparkling chemistry, not once making their relationship look odd. What starts off as infatuation gradually develops into something deeper, and there's an ease with which the two actors handle these scenes. A telling example of this is the pre-interval stretch that begins with a slight tension between the two characters, before resulting in a rousing high. The whole sequence is a beautiful combination of solid acting, unpretentious writing and excellent staging. When Justin sheepishly says, 'Love you, too,' you can't think of anyone but Nivin to pull it off so endearingly."
Bethlehem Kudumba Unit is scripted by the filmmaker with his Premalu co-writer Kiran Josey. The ensemble cast includes Suresh Krishna, Bindu Panicker, Vinay Forrt, Roshan Shanavas, Shyam Mohan, Shameer Khan, Srinda, Parvathy Ayyappadas and Meenakshi Raveendran, among others.
Dileesh Pothan, Fahadh Faasil and Syam Pushkaran have produced Bethlehem Kudumba Unit under the banner of Bhavana Studios, the production house behind the blockbuster film Premalu.
The makers had also recently announced that the Tamil and Telugu dubbed versions of the film will hit theatres on September 4.