Can a man and woman ‘just’ remain friends forever? Though some would nod in the positive, there would be an equal number of opponents for this ‘complex’ relationship.
Anyway, the upcoming flick How Old Are You from Sanjay-Bobby duo, to be directed by Roshan Andrews, is all about the so-called ‘issues’ born out of man-woman relationships.
“I would rather be uncomfortable in tagging such troubles as issues. If you consider them to be issues, definitely they are going to be. Through this movie, we wanted to discard those norms in which some deeds are regarded as fine and some others are quoted ‘bad’ simply because they are unheard of or not practised at least a while ago,” says Sanjay, script-writer of the movie. He adds that the movie talks about male-female friendship after a certain age.
“Definitely, age is not a barrier for anything,” agrees Roshan Andrews, director of How Old Are You. “The movie is a complete female-oriented film that is told with a tinge of satire. It takes the viewer to a different perception level and the thinking pattern of a woman. She might surprise you for sure and doubtlessly would shock at least a minority,” he says.
The director, whose previous outings were well received by the audience, promises that it’s not going to be different this time too. “I would rather call this movie as my first one simply because of its rawness. All my previous flicks had touched those spheres where Malayalam movie had not till then. Even How Old Are You is going to be one such. This is a completely new idea,” he says.
The movie had struck headlines right from its cast announcement, with actor Manju Warrier playing the lead along with Kunjacko Boban.
“No other heroine in the Indian industry can perform this character. If Manju had’nt said yes, may be this film would never ever have worked out,” says Roshan.
Says Sanjay, “I had initially approached Manju to narrate another script with Prithviraj in the lead. The story had been in our mind for a while and Manju had agreed to act in the movie. The plans for How Old Are You were a sudden progress and when we discussed it with her later, she had no objections.”
The Prithviraj-Manju movie will be his next flick after How Old Are You.
Speaking more about the movie, Sanjay says, “Manju dons the role of Nirupama Rajeev, who is a UD clerk in the Revenue Department. She is a woman with concrete perceptions and it is in fact through Nirupama’s decisions, deeds and beliefs that the movie progresses.”
Though the script-writer agrees that the central female character is the backbone of the movie, he adds that the male perspective is also given due prominence.
“We have tried to avoid chauvinism to the maximum extent, but at some point I feel it would creep up. Guess, it’s inborn,” he smiles.
The script-writer puts in that How Old Are You would be a less complicated movie. “The film is not a multi-narrative one. The approach is very linear and I would call it a good movie. Each element and instance is picked so as to make the viewer think and rethink. Personally I feel male-female friendship has nothing harmful in it. The movie will also portray the mother-daughter and husband-wife relationships,” he says.
How Old Are You which will be shot completely in Thiruvananthapuram will start rolling in February. The movie, being produced by Listin Stephen, will hit screens next May.