How Old Are You? (film)

How Old Are You
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Rosshan Andrrews
Produced by	Listin Stephen
Written by	Bobby Sanjay
Starring	Manju Warrier Kunchako Boban Kanika Lalu Alex Amritha Anil
Music by	Gopi Sunder
Cinematography	R. Diwakaran
Edited by	Mahesh Narayanan
Production company	Magic Frames
Distributed by	Central Pictures, Tricolor Entertainment Australia & Bunkers Ent NZ, Indian Movies (UK)
Release dates	17 May 2014 (2014-05-17) (Kerala)
Running time	141 minutes
Country	India
Language	Malayalam

How Old Are You is a 2014 Malayalam drama film directed by Rosshan Andrrews, written by Bobby Sanjay and produced by Listin Stephen under the banner of Magic Frames. It stars Manju Warrier in the lead role along with Kunchako Boban, Kanika, Lalu Alex and Amritha Anil.^[1][2] Manju Warrier plays the character of Nirupama Rajeev, a UD clerk in Revenue department.^[3] She was acting in a film after a 14-year sabbatical.^[4] The film released on May 17, 2014. It received positive reviews from critics and was one of the biggest hits of the year.^[5] The film was remade in Tamil as 36 Vayadhinile with Jyothika in the lead also making her comeback.

Plot

A 36-year-old Nirupama Rajeev (Manju Warrier) is a UD clerk in the Revenue Department. Her husband is Rajeev Narayanan (Kunchako Boban) who works in Akashavaani. Rajeev aspires to emigrate to Ireland, but Nirupama can't accompany him as most Irish companies turn down her job applications. There is nothing interesting about her life; she leads a mundane life but she craves for a change.

One dramatic day, she has been summoned to the IG's office and she learns that the President of India would like to have a conversation with her. Unfortunately, the meeting turns out to be a disaster and she become the butt of Facebook jokes and before long, she watches haplessly as her husband and daughter fly away to Ireland.

Her old classmate Susan David (Kanika), now a successful business woman, reminds her of the woman she used to be and inspires her to rediscover her younger self, a woman with big dreams and aspirations. Nirupama finds herself face to face with almost every situation that an average Malayali woman of her age goes through - from the dread of the fast approaching formidable age of forty, her inability to rise up to her daughter's expectations and the discomfiture of her husband being mistaken for her younger brother.

The movie focuses on society's obsession with attaching gender and age specific stereotypes to women.^[6]

Cast

• Manju Warrier as Nirupama Rajeev
• Kunchacko Boban as Rajeev Narayanan
• Amritha Anil as Lekshmi Rajeev
• Kanika as Susan
• Vinay Forrt as Jayachandran
• Muthumani as Sashikala
• Siddhartha Basu as President of India
• Lalu Alex as I. G.
• Kunchan as Narayanan
• Kalaranjini as Rajeev's mother
• Vanitha Krishnachandran as Nirupama's mother
• Thesni Khan as Rani
• Idavela Babu as Superintendent
• Prem Prakash as Sebastian sir
• Devan as Seetharama Iyer
• Suraj Venjaramoodu as Benny
• Sudheer Karamana
• Sethulakshmi as Madhaviyamma
• Vaishak Uthaman as the official IT Staff, Kochi Police
• Jayakrishnan as Mohan (District Collector)
• Shankar Ramakrishnan as Minister
• Jayaraj Warrier as Sivankutty
• Jayesh Pazhanimala as Nirupama's friend

Critical reception

Sify's reviewer rated the film as "watchable" and wrote, "Just like the 2012 Bollywood film English Vinglish that marked the return of Sridevi, director Rosshan Andrrews’s How Old Are You brings back the terrific Manju Warrier, who stayed away from the movies for 14 years."^[7] Veeyen of Nowrunning.com stated that "Roshan Andrews in his film 'How Old Are You' takes us along on a woman's quest to unearth her long buried identity. Armed with a bravura performance by Manju Warrier, this superbly acted and emotionally engaging drama is a keeper of a film, and quite an impressive one at that."^[8][9] Sharika C of The Hindu said, "A must-watch, the film is also her [Manju Warrier's] way of making a statement – that age does not matter and you are never too old to chase your dreams. Ab ki baar, Manju Warrier!" She cited the film as "one of those rare films that will bring crowds to the theatre just to watch a middle-aged female protagonist perform" and named it as one of Kunchacko Boban's best performances.^[9] Paresh C Palicha of Rediff.com rated the film 3/5 and said, "How Old Are You is a good watch not just because it is the comeback film of Manju Warrier, but also because it has got a good story to tell."^[10] Metromatinee.com called the film "Light hearted yet weighty."^[11]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack and background score will be composed by Gopi Sunder. There are two songs in the movie, out of which one is played during the title cards.^[12] "Vijanathayil" is sung by Shreya Ghoshal.^[6][13]

Awards

• 2014 - Asiavision Award for Best Actress - Manju Warrier^[14]
• 2014 - Asiavision Award for Best Movie ^[14]
• 2015 - Asianet Film Awards for Best Actress - Manju Warrier^[15]
• 2015 - Vanitha Film Awards for Best Actress - Manju Warrier
• 2015 - Vanitha Film Awards for Best Singer (Female) - Shreya Ghoshal

References

External links

• How Old Are You on Facebook
• How Old Are You? at the Internet Movie Database