The Namesake (film)
| The Namesake | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster for The Namesake | |
| Directed by | Mira Nair |
| Written by | Jhumpa Lahiri (novel) & Sooni Taraporevala |
| Starring | Tabu Irfan Khan Kal Penn Zuleikha Robinson Jacinda Barrett Sahira Nair |
Release date | March 9 2007 |
| Language | Bengali / Hindi / English |
The Namesake (2007) is a film which will receive a limited release in the United States on March 9 2007. It has been screened at film fesitvals in Toronto and New York.
It is directed by Mira Nair and is based upon the novel The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri. Sooni Taraporevala adapted the novel to a screenplay.
Story
Template:Spoiler The Namesake describes the struggles between two first generation Bengali immigrants to the United States, Ashima Ganguli (Tabu) and Ashoke Ganguli (Irfan Khan), and their children, Gogol (Kal Penn) and Sonali (Sonia) (Sahira Nair).
The story begins as Ashoke and Ashima leave Kolkata, India and settle in New York. Through a series of errors, their son's nickname, Gogol, becomes his official birth name, an event which will shape many aspects of his life. Gogol eventually meets and falls in love with two women, Maxine (Jacinda Barrett) and Moushumi (Zuleikha Robinson).
MPAA rating
PG-13 for sexuality/nudity, a scene of drug use, some disturbing images and brief language.
Trivia
- Jhumpa Lahiri, the author of the novel The Namesake, will appear in the film as Aunt Jhumpa.
- Mira Nair initially wanted Rani Mukherjee to play the role of Ashima after she had seen her in Mani Ratnam's Yuva. Rani Mukherjee couldn't sign the film due to date problems. After that, Mira Nair wanted Konkona Sen Sharma to play the role. She couldn't commit due to her mother Aparna Sen's film 15, Park Avenue. After which the director signed Tabu for the role.[1]
- A glance at the cast of characters and remarks by Kal Penn in his blog imply that the character "Dmitri" has been replaced by a presumably French character "Pierre."
- According to the cast list offered by IMDB, a notable absence from the original novel is the character Ruth, with whom Gogol is romantically involved.
- Like the character he plays, actor Kal Penn also changed his name (Kalpen Modi) after childhood.
- The film was originally the most distant of three projects Mira Nair and Sooni Taraporevala were working on together, but was the first produced.
- Screenwriter Sooni Taraporevala wrote the final drafts of the film just as her own photography book on India's Parsi Zoroastrians was being published.
External links
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