The Namesake (film)
The Namesake | |
---|---|
Directed by | Mira Nair |
Screenplay by | Sooni Taraporevala |
Based on | The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri |
Produced by | Mira Nair Lydia Dean Pilcher |
Starring | Kal Penn Tabu Irrfan Khan Zuleikha Robinson Jacinda Barrett Sebastian Roché Sahira Nair Ruma Guha Thakurta Sabyasachi Chakrabarty Supriya Devi |
Cinematography | Frederick Elmes |
Edited by | Allyson C. Johnson |
Music by | Nitin Sawhney |
Production companies | |
Distributed by | Fox Searchlight Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 121 minutes[1] |
Countries | United States India Japan |
Languages | English Bengali |
Budget | $9.5 million[2] |
Box office | $20.14 million[3] |
The Namesake is a 2006 English-language drama film directed by Mira Nair and written by Sooni Taraporevala based on the novel The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri. It stars Kal Penn, Tabu, Irrfan Khan and Sahira Nair. The film was produced by Indian, American and Japanese studios.[4] The film was released in the United States on 9 March 2007, following screenings at film festivals in Toronto and New York City. The Namesake received positive reviews from American critics.[5]
Plot
The Namesake depicts the struggles of Ashoke and Ashima Ganguli, first-generation immigrants from the state of West Bengal to the United States, and their American-born children Gogol and Sonia. The film takes place primarily in Kolkata, New York City, and suburbs of New York City.
The story begins as Ashoke and Ashima leave Calcutta and settle in New York City. Through a series of miscues, their son's nickname, Gogol (named after Russian author Nikolai Gogol), becomes his official birth name, an event which will shape many aspects of his life. The story chronicles Gogol's cross-cultural experiences [6] and his exploration of his Indian heritage, as the story shifts between the United States and India.
Gogol becomes a lazy, pot-smoking teenager indifferent to his cultural background. He resents many of the customs and traditions his family upholds and doesn't understand his parents. After a summer trip to India before starting college at Yale, Gogol starts opening up to his culture and becomes more accepting of it.
After college, Gogol uses his "good name" Nikhil (later shortened to Nick). He works as an architect and dates Maxine (Jacinda Barrett), a white American woman from a wealthy background, who is clueless about their cultural differences. Gogol falls in love with Maxine and introduces her to his parents, who struggle to understand his modern, American perspectives on dating, marriage and love. They are hesitant and guarded when meeting her. Gogol gets along with Maxine's family and feels closer to them than he does his own family.
Before he goes to Ohio for a teaching apprenticeship, Ashoke tells Gogol the story of how he came up with his name. Shortly after, while Gogol is on vacation with Maxine's family, Ashoke dies. Grieving, Gogol tries to be more like what he thinks his parents want him to be and begins following cultural customs more closely. He grows distant from Maxine and eventually breaks up with her.
Gogol rekindles a friendship with Moushumi (Zuleikha Robinson), the daughter of family friends. They begin dating and soon after get married. However, the marriage is short-lived as Moushumi, bored with being a wife, starts having an affair with an old boyfriend from Paris. Gogol divorces her, while Ashima blames herself for pressuring Gogol to marry a fellow Bengali. Gogol returns home to help Ashima pack the house when he finds the book Ashoke gave him as a graduation present. Searching for comfort, and accepting his new life alone, Gogol finally reads the stories written by his namesake on the train home.
As well as depicting Gogol/Nikhil's experiences, the film describes the courtship and marriage of Ashima and Ashoke, and the effect on the family from Ashoke's early death from a massive heart attack. Through experiencing his father's funeral rites on the banks of the Ganges, Gogol begins to appreciate Indian culture. Ashima's decision to move on with her life, selling the suburban family home and returning to Calcutta for part of each year, unifies and ends the story.
Cast
- Kal Penn as Nikhil "Gogol" Ganguli
- Soham Chatterjee as child Gogol aged 4 years
- Tabu as Ashima Ganguli
- Irrfan Khan as Ashoke Ganguli
- Sahira Nair as Sonia Ganguli
- Jacinda Barrett as Maxine Ratcliffe
- Sebastian Roché as Chris Wright
- Linus Roache as Mr Joshua Lawson (Gogol's teacher)
- Glenne Headly as Lydia
- Zuleikha Robinson as Moushumi Majumdar
- Ruma Guha Thakurta as Ashoke's mother
- Sabyasachi Chakrabarty as Ashima's father
- Supriya Devi as Ashima's grandmother
- Jagannath Guha as Ghosh
- Sukanya Chakraborty as Rini
- Tanushree Shankar as Ashima's mother
- Tamal Roy Choudhury as Ashoke's father
- Jhumpa Lahiri as Jhumpa Mashi
The film has cameo appearances by actor Samrat Chakrabarti, academic Partha Chatterjee and visual artist Naeem Mohaiemen.
Development
Initially Rani Mukerji was considered for the principal lead, but due to scheduling conflicts, the role went to Tabu. Kal Penn was recommended for the movie by John Cho and strongly requested by Nair's son, who was a fan of Penn in Harold and Kumar.[7][8]
Soundtrack
The soundtrack has varied music: Indian, Anglo-Indian (by Nitin Sawhney, influenced by Ravi Shankar's music for Pather Panchali),[9] and a French piece. One British Indian electronica piece is State of Bengal's "IC408." The ringtone from Moushumi's mobile phone is the song "Riviera Rendezvous" by Ursula 1000 from the album Kinda' Kinky; this is the same song that is played when Gogol and Moushumi first sleep together. The Indian classical pieces (performed on screen by Tabu) were sung by Mitali Banerjee Bhawmik, a New Jersey-based musician.
Critical reception
The film received favorable reviews from critics. As of 23 February 2009, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 86% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 126 reviews.[5] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 82 out of 100, based on 33 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[10]
Top ten lists
The film appeared on several critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2007.[11]
- 6th - Peter Rainer, The Christian Science Monitor
- 8th - Carrie Rickey, The Philadelphia Inquirer
- 8th - Claudia Puig, USA Today
- 9th - James Berardinelli, ReelViews
Awards and nominations
- Won - Love is Folly International Film Festival (Bulgaria) - "Golden Aphrodite" - Mira Nair[12]
- Nominated - Casting Society of America - "Best Feature Film Casting" - Cindy Tolan[13]
- Nominated - Gotham Awards 2007 - "Best Film" - Mira Nair & Lydia Dean Pilcher[14]
- Nominated - Independent Spirit Award - "Best Supporting Male" - Irrfan Khan[15]
See also
References
- ^ "The Namesake (12A) – BBFC". BBFC. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
- ^ "The Namesake".
- ^ The Namesake at Box Office Mojo
- ^ "The Namesake (2006)". BFI. British Film Institute. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
- ^ a b "The Namesake - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 23 February 2009.
- ^ "The Namesake (2006) : When Cultures Clash". Movierdo. 15 February 2020. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
- ^ Pause, Arun Kale, code fixes and updates by Stef. "Nirali Magazine - 21 Things You Didn't Know About The Namesake". niralimagazine.com.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Why Rani, Abhishek lost out on Namesake". Rediff.com Movies. 23 March 2007.
- ^ Observer Music Monthly March 2007
- ^ "Namesake, The (2007): Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 5 January 2008.
- ^ "Metacritic: 2007 Film Critic Top Ten Lists". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2 January 2008. Retrieved 5 January 2008.
- ^ "Ретроспекция Любовта е Лудост | IFF "Love Is Folly"" (in Bulgarian). 4 March 2018. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
- ^ "2007 Artios Awards". www.castingsociety.com. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
- ^ "17th Annual Gotham Awards Unveil Nominees for Year's Best Independent Films". PRWeb. 22 October 2007. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
- ^ Sciretta, Peter (27 November 2007). "Independent Spirit Awards Nominations: A Look At The Best Indie Films Of 2007". /Film. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
External links
- The Namesake at IMDb
- Official trailer
- ‹The template AllMovie title is being considered for deletion.› The Namesake at AllMovie
- The Namesake at Rotten Tomatoes
- The Namesake at Metacritic
- The Namesake at Box Office Mojo
- 2006 films
- 2006 drama films
- Adultery in films
- American drama films
- Indian drama films
- Films about Indian Americans
- English-language Indian films
- English-language Japanese films
- Japanese drama films
- Films about immigration to the United States
- Films based on American novels
- Films based on Indian novels
- Films directed by Mira Nair
- Films set in Kolkata
- Films set in New York City
- Films shot in India
- Films shot in New York City
- Films shot in Kolkata
- Fox Searchlight Pictures films
- UTV Motion Pictures films
- Asian-American drama films
- Mirabai Films films
- 2000s American films
- 2006 independent films
- 2000s Japanese films