Girish AD Films: How the Premalu Director Built His Own Genre
From Thanneer Mathan Dinangal to Bethlehem Kudumba Unit: every Girish A. D. film, what links them, why Premalu 2 was shelved and which one to watch first.
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Short answer: Girish A. D. has directed five features in seven years, and four of them are warm, small-town romantic comedies built around awkward young people, very specific Kerala settings and an ensemble of returning actors. That formula took him from a ₹2 crore debut, Thanneer Mathan Dinangal (2019), to Bethlehem Kudumba Unit (2026), now the highest-grossing Malayalam film ever. If you only have time for one, start with Premalu (2024); if you want to see where the style came from, go back to Thanneer Mathan Dinangal.
He is in the news again this week. At the success celebration for Bethlehem Kudumba Unit in Kochi, Girish said he had spent a full year on Premalu 2 before it was shelved: "We lost an entire year because of it." Below is a film-by-film guide to his work, what connects the films, and what the shelved sequel tells us about how he works.
Who is Girish A. D.?
Girish grew up in Chalakudy in Thrissur district and studied engineering at MET's School of Engineering in Mala before turning to short films. Yashpal, Vishuddha Ambrose and Mookutthi found an audience online, and Vishuddha Ambrose won him the best director award at the Adoor short film festival in 2017. He then co-wrote Bilahari K. Raj's Allu Ramendran before directing his first feature.
He has been open about why he keeps returning to the same genre. A 2023 interview with The New Indian Express ran under his own line: he prefers making rom-coms because "they don't need much homework". It is a modest way of putting it. The films look effortless because the observation in them is precise: how teenagers talk around a juice shop after school, how a group of Malayalis behaves in Hyderabad, how a parish neighbourhood gossips.
Girish A. D.'s films, one by one
Thanneer Mathan Dinangal (2019)
His debut, co-written with Dinoy Paulose, follows Jaison, a cynical eleventh-grader with a crush on his classmate Keerthy and a running feud with Ravi, the new Malayalam teacher everyone else adores (Vineeth Sreenivasan, cast against type). Mathew Thomas, Anaswara Rajan and Naslen play the students. Made for about ₹2 crore, it grossed around ₹50 crore and was the fourth-biggest Malayalam hit of 2019.
Watch it for the blueprint: a narrow world (a higher secondary school), humour that comes from embarrassment rather than gags, and young actors who feel like real students. Naslen, then a newcomer in a small role, would become a Girish regular.
Super Sharanya (2022)
Released on 7 January 2022, his second film moves to an engineering college in Thrissur. Anaswara Rajan plays Sharanya, an anxious student from a small town in Palakkad who struggles to say no to anyone, with Mamitha Baiju, Arjun Ashokan and Naslen in support. Critics were mixed, but at 164 minutes it still became a commercial success.
It is the loosest of his romances as a story, yet it matters for two reasons. It is told from a young woman's point of view, and it brings Mamitha Baiju into his world. Editor Akash Joseph Varghese, who has cut every Girish film since, also joins here.
Premalu (2024)
This is the film that made him a national name. Sachin (Naslen), a graduate from Kerala whose UK visa falls through, goes to Hyderabad for a GATE coaching course and falls for Reenu (Mamitha Baiju), an IT employee who seems far out of his league. Sangeeth Prathap, as his friend Amal, steals entire scenes.
It was also his first film with Bhavana Studios, the banner of Fahadh Faasil, Dileesh Pothan and Syam Pushkaran, and his first with co-writer Kiran Josey, cinematographer Ajmal Sabu and composer Vishnu Vijay. Made for about ₹9 crore, it grossed ₹136.25 crore, and a Telugu dubbed version helped its Hyderabad story find a second audience. If you are new to Girish, start here.
I Am Kathalan (2024)
The odd one out. Released on 7 November 2024, it is a cyber-crime thriller written by Sajin Cherukayil, not Girish, about an unemployed engineering graduate (Naslen again) who hacks the chit-fund company run by his ex-girlfriend's father. Filming began in December 2022, months before Premalu, but it reached theatres after it. Reviews were mixed and it did average business. Skip it unless you are watching everything he has made.
Bethlehem Kudumba Unit (2026)
Released for Onam on 21 August 2026, his fifth film pairs Mamitha Baiju with Nivin Pauly. Ashley, a college student whose family moves to Angamaly after money trouble, falls for Justin, the much older bachelor next door who runs a catering business and is liked by the whole neighbourhood. The title refers to a kudumba unit, the small Christian community that Kerala parishes organise their families into, and the neighbours matter as much as the couple.
The age gap gives it more friction than his earlier films, and the families' resistance gives the second half real stakes. Made for about ₹25 crore, it has grossed over ₹330 crore worldwide according to figures reported by The Indian Express, making it the highest-grossing Malayalam film of all time. It began streaming on JioHotstar on 2 October.
What makes a Girish A. D. film
- The characters grow up with him. His leads move from school (Thanneer Mathan Dinangal) to college (Super Sharanya), to a coaching course and first jobs in another city (Premalu), to a man in his mid-thirties who has stopped expecting love (Bethlehem Kudumba Unit). The audience that found him in 2019 has aged along with the films.
- Places are specific. A higher secondary school, a Thrissur engineering college, Malayalis in Hyderabad, a parish neighbourhood in Angamaly. The jokes depend on knowing exactly where you are.
- A repertory company. Naslen is in four of the five films and Mamitha Baiju in three, while Sangeeth Prathap and Shyam Mohan carried over from Premalu into Bethlehem Kudumba Unit. Behind the camera, the core team has stayed together since Premalu.
- Embarrassment over slapstick. The comedy comes from people saying the wrong thing at the wrong moment, which is why the films travel well with subtitles.
- Mid-budget, big returns. None of his films is reported to have cost more than about ₹25 crore, yet two now sit among the biggest Malayalam hits ever. That is a strong case for the writer-led model behind the new generation wave in Malayalam cinema.
What happened to Premalu 2?
A sequel was announced after Premalu's run, with a Vishu 2026 release in mind. In April 2026 producer Dileesh Pothan confirmed it had been shelved. Girish had earlier put it down to a gut feeling that he could not convince himself about the sequel's story. Speaking in Kochi this month, he was blunter: the team had lost a year, and in his view the film never needed to be scrapped.
He also said the idea for Bethlehem Kudumba Unit existed before Premalu became a hit, and that the sequel pushed it back. The new film reached theatres only three to four months after the Vishu slot Premalu 2 had been aiming for, and he called its success "a personal victory". Read it as a director choosing an original story over a safe follow-up, and being rewarded for it. Nothing suggests Premalu 2 is back in development.
Where to start
- Premalu for the purest version of his style and the easiest entry for non-Malayali viewers.
- Bethlehem Kudumba Unit next, to see the same team handle an older, more complicated romance.
- Thanneer Mathan Dinangal to see where it all began, especially if you liked the school-years humour.
- Super Sharanya if you want more; give it patience in the middle.
For more easy viewing, see our pick of the best Malayalam movies on OTT in 2026. For a very different Malayalam director, our guide to Adoor Gopalakrishnan's films covers the art-house tradition, and how Mollywood went global explains why films like Premalu now travel far beyond Kerala.
Quick answers
How many films has Girish A. D. directed?
Five features: Thanneer Mathan Dinangal (2019), Super Sharanya (2022), Premalu (2024), I Am Kathalan (2024) and Bethlehem Kudumba Unit (2026).
Is Premalu 2 still happening?
No. Producer Dileesh Pothan confirmed in April 2026 that it was shelved, and Girish spoke about losing a year to it in October 2026. No revival has been announced.
Is Bethlehem Kudumba Unit connected to Premalu?
No, it is a standalone story. It shares the director, producers, co-writer, much of the crew and several actors, including Mamitha Baiju, Sangeeth Prathap and Shyam Mohan, in different roles.
Sources: India Today: Girish AD on shelving Premalu 2 (19 Oct 2026), The Indian Express: "We wasted an entire year" (19 Oct 2026), Girish A. D. (Wikipedia), Thanneer Mathan Dinangal, Super Sharanya, Premalu, I Am Kathalan, Bethlehem Kudumba Unit.
