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The Namesake (film)

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The Namesake
Promotional poster for The Namesake
Directed byMira Nair
Written byJhumpa Lahiri (novel) & Sooni Taraporevala
StarringTabu
Irfan Khan
Kal Penn
Zuleikha Robinson
Jacinda Barrett
Sahira Nair
Ruma Guha Thakurta
Distributed byFox Searchlight Pictures
Mirabai Films
Release date
March 9 2007
LanguageEnglish / Bengali / Hindi

The Namesake is a 2007 film which received a limited release in the United States on March 9, 2007. It has been screened at film festivals in Toronto and New York.

It is directed by Mira Nair and is based upon the novel The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri who appeared in the movie. Sooni Taraporevala adapted the novel to a screenplay.

Plot

The Namesake describes the struggles between two first generation Indian immigrants, from West Bengal, to the United States, Ashima Ganguli (Tabu) and Ashoke Ganguli (Irfan Khan), and their children, Gogol (Kal Penn) and Sonali (Sonia) (Sahira Nair). The featured locales are Kolkata, India, Queens, New York, and the New York City suburbs of Nyack and Oyster Bay.

The story begins as Ashoke and Ashima leave Kolkata and settle in New York City. Through a series of miscues, their son's nickname, Gogol (named after Ukrainian author Nikolai Gogol), becomes his official birth name, an event which will shape many aspects of his life. The film uses Gogol's struggles over his name as a jumping off point to explore large issues of integration, assimilation and cultural identity. The film chronicles Gogol's cross-cultural experiences and his exploration of his Indian heritage, as the story shifts between the United States and India. Gogol eventually meets and falls in love with two women, Maxine (Jacinda Barrett) and Moushumi (Zuleikha Robinson), while his parents struggle to understand his modern, American perspectives on dating, marriage and love.

It is ultimately a story of American-born Gogol, the son of Indian immigrants, wanting to fit in among his fellow New Yorkers, despite his family's unwillingness to let go of their traditional ways. Ultimately, the viewer and Gogol himself gains a better understanding of the individual in Indian and Indian-American culture.

Cast

File:Tabu-in-the-Namesake.gif
Tabu as featured in the film.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack has varied music, Indian, Anglo-Indian (by Nitin Sawhney), 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". 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 January 5, 2008, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 85% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 117 reviews.[1] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 82 out of 100, based on 33 reviews.[2]

Top ten lists

The film appeared on several critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2007.[3]

References

  1. ^ "The Namesake - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2008-01-05.
  2. ^ "Namesake, The (2007): Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2008-01-05.
  3. ^ "Metacritic: 2007 Film Critic Top Ten Lists". Metacritic. Retrieved 2008-01-05.

See also