The Namesake (2006)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

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 | Singer | Bengali | Death | Parents

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:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | Ireland:12A | Singapore:NC-16 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | 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:

Gogol Ganguli: Who's Pierre?
[silence]
Gogol Ganguli: Are you having an affair?
[more silence]
Moushumi Mazumdar: Maybe it's not enough that we are both Bengali.
Gogol Ganguli: That's not why I love you.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Bong Connection (2006)

Soundtrack:

Raag Hansdhwani

A very well-shot, vibrant film that captures the nuances of Bengali culture, as well as the loneliness universally felt by all persons.

As a fellow Bengali and Jhumpa Lahiri fan, I had low expectations for a movie adaptation of her poignant novel (though I think The Interpreter of Maladies was better written). However, I was pleasantly surprised when I finally saw the movie at today's NY Times Arts and Leisure Weekend screening. The movie addresses all issues with care, and makes a non-Bengali audience understand the nuances of Bengali culture. The movie captures the hustle and bustle of India, sets the tone of the movie from the very first scene, and, overall, is heartwarming and true. It is humorous at all the right points, and the transition from a loud, vibrant and colorful life to a lonely, cold, and snow-white New York is breathtaking. You can feel Tabu's (Ashima's) loneliness. Jhumpa Lahiri's cameo is well-appreciated, though many in the audience did not catch it. The movie is respectful of Indian culture and uses small instances as canvases for large messages. Everyone is well-cast. Kal Penn shows himself to be capable of more difficult roles than the college-boy stereotype. Tabu and Irrfan Khan do not disappoint, since they are some of the highest-esteemed actors in India today. I felt like going back to Calcutta during all the Indian scenes. Starting the opening credits with the characters of the actors' names replaced with American characters was witty. "Everyday has been a gift, Gogol," Irrfan Khan (Ashok) tells Kal Penn (Gogol) in the movie, but truly, The Namesake is a wonderful gift for its audience, especially since I saw this movie 5 days before my birthday.