''Summer in Bethlehem'' is a 1998 Indian

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...

-language

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

film directed by

Sibi Malayil Sibi (Sindhi: سيوي ur, ) is a city situated in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. The city is the headquarters of the district and tehsil of the same name. Etymology The origin of the town's name is attributed to Rani Sewi, a Hindu lad ...

and written by Ranjith. It was produced by Siyad Koker under the company Kokers Films. The film stars

Suresh Gopi Suresh Gopi (born 26 June 1958) is an Indian actor, politician, playback singer and television presenter. He works predominantly in Malayalam cinema and has also appeared in some Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Bollywood films. Suresh made his acti ...

Jayaram Jayaram Subramaniam, (born 10 December 1965) known mononymously as Jayaram, is an Indian actor who predominantly appears in Malayalam,Tamil films, along with a few Telugu films. He is also a chenda percussionist, mimicry artist, and occasional ...

Manju Warrier Manju Warrier (; born 10 September 1978) is an Indian actress, producer, classical dancer and playback singer who primarily appears in Malayalam language films. She is the recipient of several awards including one National Film Award, one Kera ...

and

Kalabhavan Mani Kunnisseri Veettil Raman Mani (1 January 1971 – 6 March 2016), better known by his stage name Kalabhavan Mani, was an Indian actor and singer. Mani started his career as a mimicry artist with the Kalabhavan comedy troupe. He had starred in ove ...

while

Mohanlal Mohanlal Viswanathan (born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor, film producer, playback singer, film distributor, and director who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically app ...

makes a

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...

. The music was composed by Vidyasagar. It tells the story of Ravishankar (Jayaram), the bumbling friend of a successful landowner Dennis ( Suresh Gopi), and the vacation visit by Ravishankar's relatives in Dennis's estate known as Bethlehem Estates in a fictional town of Chandragiri in the Nilgiris. The film was released on 4 September 1998.The film was partially remade in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

as ''

Lesa Lesa ''Lesa Lesa...'' (), also referred to as ''Laysa Laysa'', is a 2003 Indian Tamil-language film directed by Priyadarshan and produced by Vikram Singh, who previously produced '' 12B''. The film stars Shaam and Trisha, while Vivek, Radharav ...

'' (2003), directed by

Priyadarshan Priyadarshan (born 30 January 1957) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer who works predominantly in Malayalam and Hindi films, while also having done six films in Tamil and two films in Telugu. He has done about 31 films in ...

who opined that the movie was inspired by the two American movies - '' Fiddler on the Roof'' and ''

Come September ''Come September'' is a 1961 American romantic comedy film directed by Robert Mulligan and starring Rock Hudson, Gina Lollobrigida, Sandra Dee and Bobby Darin. Plot Wealthy American businessman Robert Talbot owns a villa on the Ligurian coast, ...

''. A sequel to the film has been announced by Siyad Koker during the audio launch of the Malayalam film '' Meri Awas Suno.''

Plot

Ravishankar, an unsuccessful investor, stays with Dennis, his friend who is successful in dairy farm business. Dennis owns a vast farmland named Bethlehem, and hundreds of cattle, in a valley. Ravi is a fun-loving, jovial chap, who has fabricated stories of his success to his parents, grandparents and relatives. On a vacation, Colonel C.R. Menon, his grandfather and grandmother arrive with their extended family to spend a couple of days at the farmhouse of Ravishankar. He successfully makes them believe that he is the real owner of Bethlehem, and Dennis is just his working partner. Dennis, who is an orphan, was happy to meet a huge family and welcomes them with full heart. Colonel Menon has a plan to get Ravishankar married to any one of his granddaughters. Ravishankar is a bit confused about whom he should choose. To make matters complicated, he had been receiving gifts and messages from one of the five girls expressing her love for him. Meanwhile, a few days after their arrival at Bethlehem, Abhirami, another granddaughter of Menon, who is studying in Bangalore arrives alone. She seems to be too upset and worried. But within short time, she returns to normalcy and enjoys the colors of vacation. During their stay, Ravi and Dennis decide to discover the girl who had been teasing them with the cryptic messages. Dennis begins suspecting Abhirami of being the sender but she informs him that she is not and that she would help them in finding the person. She asks around among her cousins but everyone denies them being the sender. However, Dennis begins to fall for her and to make matters complicated, Ravi confesses to him that he plans on proposing to Abhirami. To avoid a situation, Dennis hides his true feelings from everyone. Colonel Menon and his wife approve of Ravi's and Abhirami's relationship but upon knowing this, Abhirami snubs them by declaring that she is in love with Dennis. Her decision creates a panic among all, who believes that Dennis is a failed businessman who is living at the expense of Ravishankar. Ravi shocks everyone by revealing that Dennis is the actual owner of Bethlehem and that he is more than happy to see Abhirami marrying Dennis. Abhirami meets Dennis who is completely broken down after the chaos at the house. Dennis, at the same time, is happy at heart knowing about Abhirami's love for him. But she shocks him by saying that she was just using his name to escape the marriage. She tells Dennis that she is in love with Niranjan, a Naxal revolutionary in southern

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

. Niranjan, whom she met in

Bangalore Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...

, is now in jail, convicted of killing Brijesh Mallaya, a business owner and his family. He is awaiting his death sentence in a couple of days and Abhirami has taken a vow not to marry anyone other than Niranjan. But at home, upon the compulsion from Ravi, the family decides to get Abhirami married to Dennis. The night before wedding, Abhirami requests Dennis to take her to jail to meet Niranjan for one last time. They meet Niranjan, who is a completely changed man. Remorseful Niranjan regrets the violent ways he adopted in class war and the crimes he did to obtain a classless society. Niranjan advises Abhirami to forget him and accept Dennis as her husband. Abhirami refuses to take his words, but Niranjan forces Dennis to tie the

thali Thali (meaning "plate"), Bhojanam (meaning "full meal") or Chakluk is a round platter used to serve food in South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Caribbean. Thali is also used to refer to an Indian-style meal made up of a selection of various d ...

to Abhirami, which she has brought with her. Dennis obeys Niranjan, marries Abhirami at the jail, and Niranjan witnesses it with tearful eyes. A few days later, the family returns home, while Ravi jokingly reminds everyone that they should be back here next year to welcome junior Dennis. The train departs slowly and a girl's hand reaches out of the coach window, holding the kitten which was sent as a gift to Ravi before. Ravi takes off running to find out who it is, but he catches only a cryptic message that teases him to follow and discover her identity.

Cast

as Dennis *

as Ravishankar *

as Abhirami (Amy) * Sangeetha as Jyothi (Ravishankar's unknown lover) * Sreejaya Nair as Devika * Mayoori as Gayathri *

Manjula Manjula (Sanskrit: मंजुला) is a Hindu and Sanskrit female given name, which means, "melodious". Notable people named Manjula * Manjula (Kannada actress) (1954–1986), Indian actress * Manjula Chellur (born 1955), Indian doctor and ...

as Aparna *

as Monayi * Janardhanan as Rtd.

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

C. R. Menon, Ravishankar's grandfather * Sukumari as Ravishankar's grandmother * V. K. Sreeraman as Balachandran, Abhirami's adopted father * Reena as Abhirami's adopted mother * Girija Preman as Ravishankar's mother *

Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North A ...

as Appunni Nair *

Sadiq Sadiq is a male name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Ja'far al-Sadiq, the 8th-century Muslim scholar and scientist, considered as an Imam and founder of the Ja'fari school of jurisprudence by Twelver and Isma'ili Shi’as, and a major f ...

as Chandrappan, Police officer *

Sujitha Sujitha (born 12 July 1982) is an Indian actress who works in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam TV serials. She is known for portraying "Dhanam" in ''Pandian Stores'' and in Kerala she is popular for portraying "Unnimaya" in the Asianet TV serial '' ...

as Ravishankar's cousin sister * Dhanya Menon as Ravishankar's cousin sister * Nivia Rebin as Ravishankar's cousin sister * Krupa as Ravishankar's cousin sister * M. Renjith as Lawrence *

Kalabhavan Rahman Kalabhavan Rahman is a Malayalam film actor in Kerala. Career Rahman started his film acting career in 1986 with a unimportant role. Reghunath Paleri directed the title Onnu Muthal Poojyam Vare. He hails from Aluva in Kerala. Rahman is al ...

as courier agent *

as Niranjan (Guest appearance) Siby George Mathew Parumala

Production

The movie, ''Summer in Bethlehem'' was the second script written by

Renjith Ranjith Balakrishnan (born 5 September 1964) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, lyricist, producer, and actor who works in Malayalam cinema. Ranjith made his directorial debut in 2001 with ''Ravanaprabhu'', the sequel to ''Devaasuram' ...

for

after '' Maya Mayooram''. In 2018, Sibi revealed the film was originally in Tamil with

Prabhu ''Prabhu'' means master or the Prince in Sanskrit and many of the Indian languages; it is a name sometimes applied to God. The term is also used by devotees of the Hindu God Lord Krishna/Vishnu as a title and form of address. It is also appended ...

as male lead along with

and

however producer back out of the film after argument, until Siyad Kokker convinced Sibi to film will made in Malayalam, Suresh Gopi replaced Prabhu as lead while Warrier and Jayaram retained their roles

Soundtrack

The soundtrack of the film was composed by Vidyasagar and written by

Gireesh Puthenchery Girish Puthenchery (1961–2010) was a noted Malayalam Lyricist, Poet, Scriptwriter and Screenwriter. He was always referred to as the aristocratic lyricist of Malayalam who had a distinctive writing style of his own. He also served as the dire ...

. The soundtrack had seven songs. The soundtrack became one of the biggest hits in

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. Vidyasagar won

Filmfare Award for Best Music Director The Filmfare Best Music Album Award is given by the ''Filmfare'' magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to the best composer/arranger of a soundtrack. This category was first presented in 1954. Naushad Ali was the fi ...

for this film.

Release

The film was released alongside the Mammootty and

starrer- ''

Harikrishnans ''Harikrishnans'' is a 1998 Indian Malayalam-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Fazil. The film was produced and distributed by Suchitra Mohanlal under the production company Pranavam Arts, starring Mammootty and Mohanlal in ...

'' and

Dileep Gopalakrishnan Padmanabhan Pillai, better known by his stage name Dileep, is an Indian actor, producer, and businessman who predominantly works in the Malayalam film industry. He has acted in more than 150 films and has won several awards, inc ...

starrer ''

Punjabi House ''Punjabi House'' is a 1998 Indian Malayalam-language comedy drama film written and directed by Rafi Mecartin. It stars Dileep and Harisree Ashokan as comedy duo Unni and Ramanan with Mohini, Jomol, Lal, Cochin Haneefa, Thilakan, Janardhanan ...

''.

Reception

Jayalakshmi K. of ''

Deccan Herald ''Deccan Herald'' is an Indian English language daily newspaper published from the Indian state of Karnataka. It was founded by K. N. Guruswamy, a liquor businessman from Ballari and was launched on 17 June 1948. It is published by The Print ...

'' said that "A fun and family entertainer, even if dragging at times. There are songs, catchy tunes, dances with glamorous settings and backdrops, and a beautiful location which may set you on the trail of this Bethlehem in humara Bharat" ().

Box office

The film was commercial success and third highest grossing Malayalam film of the year 1998.

Controversy

Producer of the film Siyad Koker accused

of remaking ''Summer in Bethlehem'' in Tamil without taking permission or purchasing the right. The Kerala Film Producers Association had banned the screening of all the films of Priyadarsan in the state at the time. Kokker alleged that Priyadarshan's Tamil film ''

'' is an uncredited remake of ''Summer in Bethlehem''. Priyadarsan refuted by alleging that ''Summer in Bethlehem'' itself is an uncredited remake American films '' Fiddler on the Roof'' and ''

''. The matter was later settled, with Priyadarshan paying ₹ 8 Lakhs to Siyad and ₹ 3 Lakhs each to Ranjith and

References

External links

*
''Summer in Bethlehem''
at Oneindia.in {{DEFAULTSORT:Summer In Bethlehem Films shot in Ooty 1998 romantic comedy films 1998 films 1990s Malayalam-language films Malayalam films remade in other languages Indian romantic comedy films Films directed by Sibi Malayil Films scored by Vidyasagar Films with screenplays by Ranjith Films about cousins