How Old Are You? (film)

How Old Are You? is a 2014 Indian Malayalam-language family drama film directed by Rosshan Andrrews, written by Bobby Sanjay and produced by Listin Stephen. It stars Manju Warrier, Kunchacko Boban, Kaniha, Lalu Alex and Amritha Anil.[1][2] The marks the return of Warrier after a 14-year sabbatical in cinema.[3] She plays Nirupama Rajeev, a UD clerk in the Revenue Department, who evolves from a common-woman to a public figure by reinventing herself.[4]

For the Robin Gibb song, see How Old Are You? (song).
How Old Are You?
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRosshan Andrrews
Produced byListin Stephen
Written byBobby Sanjay
StarringManju Warrier
Kunchacko Boban
Kaniha
Lalu Alex
Amritha Anil
Music byGopi Sunder
CinematographyR. Diwakaran
Edited byMahesh Narayanan
Production
company
Magic Frames
Distributed byCentral Pictures
Release date
  • 17 May 2014 (2014-05-17) (Kerala)
Running time
141 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageMalayalam

The film was released on 17 May 2014. It received positive reviews from critics and was a major commercial success of the year at the box office.[5] Warrier won a record fifth Filmfare Award for Best Actress - Malayalam for her role. How Old Are You? was remade in Tamil as 36 Vayadhinile starring Jyothika (breaking her sabbatical too).

Plot

The story is centered on a 36-year-old character named Nirupama Rajeev who works as a UD clerk in the Revenue Department. Her husband is Rajeev Narayanan who works at Akashavaani and aspires of migrating 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 normal life but craves for a change.

One fine day, she gets an invitation from the President and gets summoned to the IG's office and learns that the President of India would like to have a conversation with her, after a question which her daughter posed to the President who came to the school. Unfortunately, Nirupama faints in-front of the President and the meeting turns out to be a disaster. Post this, she becomes the laughing stock on Facebook. Nirupama is then faced with an issue of being criticized by her family members. Later Nirupama gets in a situation where she has to watch her husband and daughter fly to Ireland.

Susan David, her old classmate, a successful business woman, reminds her of the woman she used to be and inspires her to rediscover her younger self. Nirupama then explains her situation, when she met the president, to the social medias and clears her name. Her inability to rise up to her daughter's expectations and the discomfiture of her husband being mistaken for her younger brother further troubles her. Nirupama had a habit of having a vegetable garden on her roof, without the usage of chemicals or pesticides.

One day Nirupama visits an old woman whom she would meet every day on her bus. Both of them don't even know their names, and when she gets to know that the woman is sick, Nirupama turns up at her house with her own vegetable. The old woman thanks her for the time she spent for her and for reminding that she is not alone in this world. News of her pure vegetables spreads via the neighbor of the sick woman. In between, Nirupama's daughter calls her to Ireland, but she hesitates as she has lots of work left to be done.

Her vegetables are asked for a wedding. For this Nirupama encourages all her neighbors to cultivate vegetables on their rooftops as well, which turns out to be a huge success. Her friend Susan David encourages her into a seminar with important people as audience. Her topic of biofarming influenced all the officials and gives her the job of making it a reality. Once again the President meets her and family.

The meeting turned out to be a successful one. The transformation of her character from a depressed woman to a steady and sprightly lady is almost predictable. 'How Old Are You?' leaves behind a sharp note to its audience. Near the end of the story, Nirupama reminds her husband to expect only what is given to her.

Cast

Soundtrack
How Old Are You
Soundtrack album by
Gopi Sundar
Released
  • 10 May 2014 (2014-05-10)
Recorded2013
StudioSound Factory
GenreFilm soundtrack
Length7:20
LanguageMalayalam
LabelMuzik 247
ProducerGopi Sundar
Gopi Sundar chronology
Mr. Fraud
(2014)		 How Old Are You
(2014)		 Bangalore Days
(2014)

The film's soundtrack contains 8 songs, all composed by Gopi Sundar and Carnival Band. Lyrics by Hari Narayanan, Rafeeq Ahamed.

#TitleSinger(s)
1 "Vijanathayil" Shreya Ghoshal
2 "Vaa Vayassu Cholli" Manjari
3 "Happy Birthday" Carnival Band

Reception

Critical reaction

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."[6] 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."[7][8]

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.[8] 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."[9] Metromatinee.com called the film "Light hearted yet weighty."[10]

Box office

How Old Are You? was a commercial success. In Kerala alone, the film earned a distributor's share of approximately ₹5 crore from 77 screens in 25 days run.[11] The film collected US$78,897 from the United Kingdom in three weeks.[12]

Awards
2014 Kerala State Film Awards[13]
62nd Filmfare Awards South[14][15]
  • Won, Best Actor (Female) - Manju Warrier
  • Won, Best Playback Singer (Female) - Shreya Ghoshal – "Vijanathayil"
  • Nominated, Best Film
  • Nominated, Best Director - Rosshan Andrrews
  • Nominated, Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Female) - Sethulakshmi
Asiavision Awards (2014)[16]
Asianet Film Awards (2015)[17]
Kerala Film Critics Association Awards (2015)
  • Best Script - Bobby Sanjay
  • Best Child Artist - Amritha Anil
  • Best Actress - Manju Warrier
Vanitha Film Awards (2015)
4th South Indian International Movie Awards
  • Best Actress - Manju Warrier
  • Nominated - Best Film
  • Nominated - Best Director - Rosshan Andrews
  • Nominated - Best Female Playback Singer - Shreya Ghoshal - "Vijanathayil"

Remakes

How Old Are You? was remade into Tamil.[18]

How Old Are You?
Malayalam (2014)		36 Vayadhinile
Tamil (2015)
Manju Warrier
(Nirupama Rajeev)		Jyothika[19]
(Vasanthi)
Kunchacko Boban
(Rajeev Narayanan)		Rahman
(Tamizhselvan)
Kaniha (Susan)Abhirami (Susan)
Amritha Anil (Lekshmi)Amritha Anil (Mithila)

References
  1. "How Old Are You? Malayalam Movie - Preview, Trailers, Gallery, Review, Events, Synopsis". Nowrunning.com. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
  2. "Manju to ask 'How Old are you' ? - Malayalam Movie News". Indiaglitz.com. 26 September 2013. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
  3. Rajaneesh Vilakudy (20 May 2014). "How Old Are You is not Manju Warriers real life". Bangalore Mirror. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  4. Roshith, Sivalakshmi. "How Old Are You: Unveiling the Male-Female Bond". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  5. "2014: When little gems outclassed big guns in southern cinema". Hindustan Times. 19 December 2014. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  6. "Movie Review : 'How Old Are You'" Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  7. "How Old Are You Review - Malayalam Movie Review by Veeyen". Nowrunning.com. 19 May 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  8. "Return of the heroine".
  9. "Review: How Old Are You is impressive - Rediff.com Movies". Rediff.com. 19 May 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  10. "How Old Are You Movie Review". Metromatinee.com. 17 May 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  11. "Kerala Box-Office â€" April 10 to June 15 â€" Summer Hits". Sify. 17 June 2014. Archived from the original on 21 July 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  12. "United Kingdom and Ireland and Malta Yearly Box Office". Box Office Mojo. 30 December 2014.
  13. ""State Awards: Nazriya, Nivin, Sudev bag top honours"". Malayala Manorama. 10 August 2015. Archived from the original on 13 August 2015.
  14. ""Winners of 62nd Britannia Filmfare Awards South"". Filmfare. 27 June 2015. Archived from the original on 29 January 2016.
  15. "Nominations for the 62nd Britannia Filmfare Awards (South)". Filmfare. 3 June 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  16. "Asiavision awards 2015". Asiavision Awards. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  17. "17th Asianet Film Awards". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  18. "Rahman joins Tamil remake of 'How Old Are You'". timesofindia.indiatimes.com.
  19. "Jyothika's 'How Old Are You' remake titled '36 Vayadhinile'". www.indianexpress.com.
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