The Namesake (2006)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Mira Nair

Writers (WGA):

Sooni Taraporevala (screenplay)
Jhumpa Lahiri (novel)

Release Date:

9 March 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Two Worlds. One Journey.

Plot:

American-born Gogol, the son of Indian immigrants, wants to fit in among his fellow New Yorkers, despite his family's unwillingness to let go of their traditional ways.

Plot Keywords:

Train | Parents | Bengali | Singer | Death

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Kal Penn	...	Gogol / Nikhil
Tabu	...	Ashima
Irrfan Khan	...	Ashoke
Jacinda Barrett	...	Maxine
Zuleikha Robinson	...	Moushumi Mazumdar
Brooke Smith	...	Sally
Sahira Nair	...	Sonia
Jagannath Guha	...	Ghosh
Ruma Guha Thakurta	...	Ashoke's Mother
Sandip Deb	...	Music Teacher
Sukanya	...	Rini
Tanushree Shankar	...	Ashima's Mother
Sabyasachi Chakraborty	...	Ashima's Father
Tamal Ray Chowdhury	...	Ashoke's Father
Dhruv Mookerji	...	Rana

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sexuality/nudity, a scene of drug use, some disturbing images and brief language.

Runtime:

122 min

Country:

India | USA

Language:

Hindi | English | Bengali | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | Ireland:12A | Singapore:NC-16 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Netherlands:12 | Germany:6 | Portugal:M/12 | Brazil:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:K-11 | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | New Zealand:M | South Korea:15 | Norway:11

Filming Locations:

Calcutta, West Bengal, India

Company:

Fox Searchlight Pictures

Trivia:

Tabu admitted that in all the years she had lived in India, she had never seen the Taj Mahal. The scene in the movie where the family goes to see the Taj Mahal was her first time seeing famous tomb.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: While in the International Arrivals area of JFK Airport, Gogol focuses on the holographic photos/art lining the hallway; this is a modern decoration of that area (and that technology wasn't prevalent ~20 years ago).

Quotes:

Moushumi Mazumdar: I detest American television.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Bong Connection (2006)

Soundtrack:

Jingle Jangle Christmas

A Nutshell Review: The Namesake

Books allow you to travel without leaving, and on the same note, movies too opens up a visual world that one can immerse into, going to places the filmmakers bring you, and experiencing and feeling the emotions that they try to evoke from you. There are few movies which leave me speechless at the end of it. Not because it's bad, but rather, on the contrary, The Namesake is a superb movie. I was in awe with so much that director Mira Nair managed to pack into its 2 hours, and the intricate layers that make up the movie.

The movie begins with Ashoke and (Irfan Khan) and Ashima (Tabu) Ganguli, newlyweds and Indian immigrants to the USofA. The first third of the movie follows their struggles in their new adopted country, as they begin a new life amongst themselves in a foreign land, and starting a family there in order to provide boundless opportunities for their offspring in the land of the free. Things become more interesting and the family dynamics a joy to watch, once their kids come into play in the latter half of the movie, centered only their firstborn son Gogol Ganguli (Kal Penn).

It's a look into family ties, the clash of cultures and values, especially with their Americanized children's western thinking versus their parents more traditional, conservative views. It's not all bickering if you'd come to expect, but rather, a very meditated story, full of understanding and tolerance, and the realization of change, as epitomized by dad Ashoke. Watching this movie, despite the racial / cultural differences, still made me think a lot about my own state of family affairs, as the story touches on universal themes - family love, parents, the constant desire to be living life in the way you want, and one point that stuck to me throughout, was that about Gogol's struggle with his name, something which I can most definitely identify with.

His disdain for his name Gogol (after Nicola Gogol) almost plays central to the movie. And fleshing out his character perfectly is Kal Penn. Who would've expected one half of Harold and Kumar being able to pull off such a complex role with aplomb? Here, his Gogol/Nikhil on one hand knows what he should be doing about not forgetting his culture and roots, but on the other, with his Caucasian girlfriend (played by Jacinta Barrett), he looks more comfortable in the American way of live he's so familiar with. It's the internal conflicts that we see him go up against, and how culture and myopia seem to influence his choices in the wrong ways.

The rest of the cast are brilliant too, and I'm singling out Irfan Khan and Tabu as nothing short of bringing out excellent performances. They bring forth certain tenderness in their relationship, and plenty of love for their son. You can feel their awkwardness in having to deal with a new culture head on, and yet knowing that it's for the better, for their family, for opportunities. They can do a lot with so little - a touch of the hand, a twinkle of the eye, that you can't help but be welcomed into their world.

The Namesake is filled with beautiful music, from both contemporary tracks as well as classical Indian music, as it parallels the struggles of the family straddling between two different cultures. And there are moments in the film that will even cause those with strong hearts, struggle to hold back a tear or two.

This movie brought me to India, a country I have yet to visit, Kolkatta and the fabled monument of love, the Taj Mahal. With authentic locales, excellent acting and a layered storyline, The Namesake is firmly set in shortlist of my favourite movies of this year. Hurry and watch this in the cinemas before its run is up.