<\/p>\n ![\"Google\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792648212_48_google_40x40.png\")
<\/p>\n
\n Make Us Your Preferred Source on Google\n <\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n
Chief ministers rarely write movie reviews, and when Keralam Chief Minister VD Satheesan did, it sparked humorous reactions on and off social media.<\/p>\n
Satheesan\u2019s review of Bethlehem Kudumba Unit (BKU) drew attention, with his enthusiastic praise and a few playful comments adding to the buzz around the Malayalam blockbuster.<\/p>\n
The chief minister said his hectic schedule had kept him away from films for a long time, forcing him to abandon even his earlier habit of watching at least one movie a month.<\/p>\n
He finally sat down to watch BKU with his daughter and her friend and came away thoroughly impressed.<\/p>\n
What appealed to him most was the romantic comedy\u2019s natural storytelling and its ability to hold the audience\u2019s attention without a dull moment.<\/p>\n
The rural setting, familiar faces, simple lives, human bonds and gentle romance reminded him of his childhood, he said.<\/p>\n
Satheesan was particularly impressed by how even actors with brief appearances managed to leave a mark.<\/p>\n
The film made him laugh, stirred emotions and kept him engaged until the end. Describing it as an example of effective teamwork, he said the experience was refreshing enough to prompt him to write a review, something he rarely does after watching a film.<\/p>\n
He also called director Girish AD and actor Sangeeth Prathap to congratulate them.\u00a0He was unable to reach lead actors Nivin Pauly and Mamitha Baiju by phone.<\/p>\n
Among those who caught his attention was Glikson, whose performance earned a special mention in his post. \u201cPoor Glikson!\u201d he remarked.<\/p>\n
The review also prompted some humorous reactions, including a question that played on the film\u2019s characters and the chief minister\u2019s own past: \u201cI just want to know\u2014was the CM \u2018Glikson\u2019 or \u2018Justin Chettan\u2019 back then?\u201d<\/p>\n
Roshan Shanavas portrayed Glikson, a good-at-heart, bumpkinish character, living in a make-believe world far removed from reality \u2014 and his love interest. Nivin Pauly\u2019s Justin Davis was the opposite: a mature character whose serious mask hid his romantic side. And like almost every hero in Indian cinema, Justin wins the girl \u2014 Ashely Thankachan played by Mamitha \u2014 both he and Glikson pine for.<\/p>\n
So, who was Satheesan back then?<\/p>\n
Satheesan\u2019s light-hearted remark added another talking point to the discussion around the film, which has rewritten Malayalam cinema\u2019s box-office record.<\/p>\n
BKU has reportedly collected \u20b9331.09 crore worldwide, making it the highest-grossing Malayalam film ever.<\/p>\n
Its gross collection in India stands at \u20b9192.64 crore, while overseas markets have contributed \u20b9138.45 crore.<\/p>\n
The film\u2019s domestic net collection is estimated at around \u20b9165 crore.<\/p>\n
Despite its OTT release, the film continues to screen in a limited number of theatres, extending the run of a film that has struck a chord with audiences and now earned praise from a prominent political figure as well.<\/p>\n
![\"journalist-ad\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792648213_688_journalistad.webp\" "\\"journalist-ad\\"")
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Behind the News is your round-up of musings from the corridors of power. Read what goes on behind…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":311612,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[153,155,154],"class_list":["post-311611","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem-headlines","tag-bethlehem-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311611","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=311611"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311611\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/311612"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=311611"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=311611"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=311611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792648209_110_cropped-Favicon2.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"subscribe\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792648210_500_SUB.webp\" "\\"subscribe\\"")
![\"Nivin](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792648211_375_BKU_VD.jpg\" "\\"BKU_VD\\"\/")
<\/p>\n