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The Namesake
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The Namesake (2006) More at IMDbPro »

Photos (see all 40 | slideshow) Videos (see all 7)
The Namesake (2006) -- 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.
The Namesake (2006) -- Clip: Mom, we're here
The Namesake (2006) -- Interview:  Tabu On Identifying With Her Character
The Namesake (2006) -- 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.
The Namesake (2006) -- Clip: I've been thinking a lot about my name

Overview

User Rating:
7.6/10   8,619 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 3% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Mira Nair
Writers (WGA):
Sooni Taraporevala (screenplay)
Jhumpa Lahiri (novel)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Namesake on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
9 March 2007 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama more
Tagline:
Two Worlds. One Journey. more
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. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
1 win & 3 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(26 articles)
Trailer - Airborne Hilary Swank as 'Amelia'
 (From Get The Big Picture. 25 June 2009, 5:46 PM, PDT)

Amelia Trailer: Hilary Swank Takes Flight
 (From Cinema Blend. 25 June 2009, 5:11 PM, PDT)

User Comments:
Moving and beautifully filmed more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

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
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated PG-13 for sexuality/nudity, a scene of drug use, some disturbing images and brief language.
Runtime:
122 min
Country:
India | USA
Colour:
Colour
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
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. more
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). more
Quotes:
Ashoke Ganguli: There is something I always wanted to ask you, but never had the courage. All those years ago, why did you say yes to me?
Ashima A. Ganguli: You were the best of the lot.
Ashoke Ganguli: Huh?
Ashima A. Ganguli: Better than the widower with four children or the cartoonist with one arm. I also liked your shoes.
Ashoke Ganguli: Oh. Oh, okay.
Ashima A. Ganguli: Hmm, you want me to say "I love you," like the Americans.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in The Bong Connection (2006) more
Soundtrack:
Once more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
108 out of 120 people found the following comment useful:-
Moving and beautifully filmed, 23 October 2006
9/10
Author: kdutta1 from United Kingdom

I saw "The Namesake" at the 22nd October screening at the London Film Festival. Mira Nair introduced the film, along with Nitin Sawhney, who wrote the score.

I admit that I loved the book, and therefore have been looking forward to this film for a while. As a second generation Bengali Brit who was born in India and went to university in the US, I know something about what it means to feel displaced, to be a stranger in a strange land, though I have never felt like an immigrant. I also have the Bengali dilemma of having two names. So the book has a lot of resonance for me.

Fortunately the film does full justice to Jhumpa Lahiri's novel. Cramming a story spanning three decades into two hours without making it feel rushed or contrived takes some doing, and Mira Nair paces it beautifully. The cinematography, the editing (juxtaposing Calcutta and New York), and even the colours of the opening credits are all spot on.

The cast are by and large, superb. Kal Penn does really well as the central character, Gogol. Anyone who has seen him in Harold & Kumar and Van Wilder: Party Liaison may have had reservations about a comic actor (albeit talented) playing this part, but he portrays the character as a confused, vulnerable, and multi-layered young man who ultimately learns to become comfortable in his own skin.

But perhaps the main reason why this story appeals to me to so much is the similarity between the experiences of his parents Ashok and Ashima and what I imagine it must have been like for my own parents when they came to England. Both Irfan Khan and Tabu are excellent. They bring a mix of loneliness, hope and pathos to their roles, people who cannot let go of their past but are prepared to sacrifice everything for their future. Their innate ordinariness is what makes their characters so sympathetic and believable.

Much like Monsoon Wedding, this is a visual and lyrical film. It is an essay on home, and on going home, not the physical place, but the state of mind.

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Message Boards

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Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Wedding Night TopRounder
Moushumi looks like Sarah Palin! rainleaf
2 hot actors! In one movie! unseengbh42
Why do the parents immegrate to the U.S? michaelingp
a bit hypocritical? *****SPOILERS***** linx89
Arranged marriage (off topic?) su8963
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