I saw the film the other night at a screening. On the whole it's pretty good, well acted and directed. However, I felt that the film skipped around an awful lot and really started to go downhill in the second half. Whenever the film focused on Gogol's family and background, I felt that it was most successful. Once it started to delve into his relationships with people outside of that, the filmmakers seem to deal with those in a cursory fashion. It just didn't seem as logical to me, especially with all the timeshifts that occur. For example, he shaves his head, and then in the next scene enough time has passed that all his hair is back. Also the film tries to wrap up his relationships with Max and Moushumi in too simplistic a fashion. Things like that really got to me. On the whole though I think the film was successful and is worth seeing. It's also what I hope will be a good way for people to understand Indian-Americans more....if anything, it's films like this that will bridge the cultures.

Tabu, Irrfan are brilliant in Namesake

Merril Diniz | March 09, 2007 14:07 IST



When a book is made into a film, especially one that is penned by a Pulitzer-Prize winning author, there's more scope for potential disaster. Will the characters, locations, plots and sub-plots pan out as effectively on celluloid as they do in the reader's imagination? Mira Nair's The Namesake, adapted from Jhumpa Lahiri's book by the same name (she won the Pullitzer Prize in 2000 for Interpreter of Maladies), does not disappoint. In fact, it surpasses one's expectations.

The story begins in 1971 Kolkata, a time when foreign products dazzled us and visits by expatriate relatives were pretty much the event of the year. A young Bengali settled in the US, Ashoke Ganguli (Irrfan) marries a local girl Ashima (Tabu) and they migrate to the US. Some years down the line, Ashima gives birth to a son (Kal Penn). The basic premise of the film is this: How will this child survive in American society with a name as odd sounding and tongue twisting as Gogol Ganguli?

Nikolai Gogol is Ashoke's favourite author. A brilliant and eccentric man, who penned literary masterpieces like The Overcoat, he eventually starved to death.

His modern-day namesake Gogol Ganguli experiences all the usual clich�s associated with people with unusual names -- his American classmates poke fun at him during lessons on Russian Literature and women raise a quizzical eyebrow at the part when he reveals his name. He grows up, very annoyed. But also, sadly, with a misconception about the origin of his name. Little does he realise that it has a more profound explanation, than he could ever imagine.

Though the premise sounds flimsy, the film breathes life into the book's characters by leaps and bounds, expanding the central idea to encompass a whole lot more. It dissects the complex lot of the American Born Confused Desi and more importantly, their attitude towards India. But sans the caricatures and the clich�s.

It traces a troubled son's pilgrimage back to his family and the realisations that don on prodigal children only in the face of immense tragedy. In fact, the film is a tribute to one's parents, but tackles the subject sans the emotional drama of say, a Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. The accents, the sets, the costumes and the dialogues boast of an authenticity, which is often missing in Indian films set in a foreign country. And the cinematography boasts a host of frames rich in texture, especially in the scenes set in Kolkata.

Irrfan Khan brilliantly, effortlessly steps into the shoes (which read 'Made In USA') of the very Bengali, practical, cool-headed Ashoke, accent and all (though it slips in one or two places). The chemistry between Khan and Tabu is intense!

Kal Penn has a meaty role and finally, an opportunity to act. And he does a smooth job of it. The rest of the cast measure up perfectly, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.

Though the film begins on a sombre pace (and slips back off and forth), it gains momentum post Gogol's birth. A person sitting next to me during the premiere complained that he couldn't relate to 'such type of art films'. There are two aspects to this. If you thrive on escapist flicks, where the end is more sensational than the journey, forget it. The Namesake is very real, bringing out both humour and tragedy in situations where two very different cultures collide. Secondly, if you are an NRI, ex-NRI or a close relative of an NRI, these situations may seem more reminiscent of real life.

Rediff Rating:


3.5/5

Mira Nair owed a role to Irfaan Khan
By IndiaFM News Bureau, March 12, 2007 - 11:50 IST

Irfaan Khan has evolved as an ace actor through his films. A director’s actor Irfaan is lucky enough to work with the talented filmmakers in his film career. He plays a Bengali man Ashoke Ganguly in Mira Nair’s forthcoming film The Namesake.

Playing an older character Ashoke Ganguly was not easy for Irfaan Khan as he reveals that Ashoke Ganguly is very silent, calm and imperceptible person. So, to play that silence was challenging for him. He says, “My character doesn’t have enough space in the novel. He doesn’t express much, so for me it was tough to get hold of the character. I was not so comfortable playing an older man as it is quite different from other roles. It not only requires facial expression but one has to think from an older man’s perspective and that’s not easy.”

According to Irfaan The Namesake is about a couple’s journey from India to New York. It’s about two people getting married without knowing each other, how they discover themselves. This man has a trauma and he carried that trauma for a long time. It’s about how he deals with it.

Irfaan loves to study his characters before playing it on screen. He says, “I did not know that I had to speak English in Bengali accent but when Mira told me my character needs to have a Bengali accent. And to acquire an accent that is not your own looks quite false so I was very worried about it. I was apprehensive about it as I didn’t want it to look like a Bengali caricature. We were shooting in New York but I could hardly go out as I worked on Bengali accent a lot and I think it came out well. Many people complimented me while most of them actually felt that I am a Bengali. I think that’s an award for an actor to be appreciated by my audience is a big thing for me.”

Very few people know that Irfaan started his career with Mira Nair’s film Salaam Bombay so how does it feel to play lead role in Mira’s film all over again? Irfaan says, “Mira picked me from the school of acting but unfortunately my role was cut and I was so disappointed that time. I was hurt and cried a lot. But when she offered me Namesake she said I owed you a role.”

He further says, “Though we didn’t work after that, Mira might be aware of my work. I think I was her first choice to play Ashok Ganguly. Incidentally, I was reading Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel ‘The Namesake’ that time so when I was offered this role, I was curious to know how she has adapted the book because it’s quite tough thing. Now, I can say that Mira has done a great job.”


** I saw his interview on red carpet"

""in bollywood actors work, for persona and style for the roles, but in hollywood you have to look appear credible" I could not agree more

Tabu, Irrfan are brilliant in Namesake

Merril Diniz | March 09, 2007 14:07 IST




When a book is made into a film, especially one that is penned by a Pulitzer-Prize winning author, there's more scope for potential disaster. Will the characters, locations, plots and sub-plots pan out as effectively on celluloid as they do in the reader's imagination? Mira Nair's The Namesake, adapted from Jhumpa Lahiri's book by the same name (she won the Pullitzer Prize in 2000 for Interpreter of Maladies), does not disappoint. In fact, it surpasses one's expectations.

The story begins in 1971 Kolkata, a time when foreign products dazzled us and visits by expatriate relatives were pretty much the event of the year. A young Bengali settled in the US, Ashoke Ganguli (Irrfan) marries a local girl Ashima (Tabu) and they migrate to the US. Some years down the line, Ashima gives birth to a son (Kal Penn). The basic premise of the film is this: How will this child survive in American society with a name as odd sounding and tongue twisting as Gogol Ganguli?

Nikolai Gogol is Ashoke's favourite author. A brilliant and eccentric man, who penned literary masterpieces like The Overcoat, he eventually starved to death.

His modern-day namesake Gogol Ganguli experiences all the usual clich�s associated with people with unusual names -- his American classmates poke fun at him during lessons on Russian Literature and women raise a quizzical eyebrow at the part when he reveals his name. He grows up, very annoyed. But also, sadly, with a misconception about the origin of his name. Little does he realise that it has a more profound explanation, than he could ever imagine.

Though the premise sounds flimsy, the film breathes life into the book's characters by leaps and bounds, expanding the central idea to encompass a whole lot more. It dissects the complex lot of the American Born Confused Desi and more importantly, their attitude towards India. But sans the caricatures and the clich�s.

It traces a troubled son's pilgrimage back to his family and the realisations that don on prodigal children only in the face of immense tragedy. In fact, the film is a tribute to one's parents, but tackles the subject sans the emotional drama of say, a Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. The accents, the sets, the costumes and the dialogues boast of an authenticity, which is often missing in Indian films set in a foreign country. And the cinematography boasts a host of frames rich in texture, especially in the scenes set in Kolkata.

Irrfan Khan brilliantly, effortlessly steps into the shoes (which read 'Made In USA') of the very Bengali, practical, cool-headed Ashoke, accent and all (though it slips in one or two places). The chemistry between Khan and Tabu is intense!

Kal Penn has a meaty role and finally, an opportunity to act. And he does a smooth job of it. The rest of the cast measure up perfectly, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.

Though the film begins on a sombre pace (and slips back off and forth), it gains momentum post Gogol's birth. A person sitting next to me during the premiere complained that he couldn't relate to 'such type of art films'. There are two aspects to this. If you thrive on escapist flicks, where the end is more sensational than the journey, forget it. The Namesake is very real, bringing out both humour and tragedy in situations where two very different cultures collide. Secondly, if you are an NRI, ex-NRI or a close relative of an NRI, these situations may seem more reminiscent of real life.

Rediff Rating:

Superman's best friend? Not quite!

Namesake seems to be going "Bend It Like Bekham" way, Box Office wise.

In it's 3rd weekend, it collected $ 1.3 Million for a total of $ 2.6 million so far from the US Box Office (Ranked # 15). They have been adding number of screens so far and it looks like another jump week starting Tomorrow. (It hasn't made to smaller centres like Ottawa yet).

out of all hinglish/hollywoodish stuff! BILB, lowest budget, highest grocer to my surprise!

I remember an Indian interviewer asked George Lucas what his favourite bollywood film was. He said "I really liked Bend it like Beckham". I really can't stand it when westerners think all films with Indians in it, must be a bollywood film. There was nothing bollywood about BILB as a matter of fact it wasn't even an Indian film. It just had Indian immigrant characters in it. Sorry, I'm annoyed because I saw an article which called The Namesake "a new kind of Bollywood film". It reminds me of the time when Monsoon Wedding was out some thought it was bollywood.

There will be one now YRF's CHUK DE PHATTE with SAROOk the A*

Its actually "Chak De India". Excerpt from YRF official site:

Yash Raj Film’s support to young directorial talent continues unabated with their third release of the year, “Chak De India”, slated to hit the screens on the 10th of August. Directed by Shimit Amin, it stars Shah Rukh Khan and will no doubt give a whole new profile to sports themed films from India. Insiders say that “Chak De India” is like nothing Amin has done before and will establish him firmly as one of India’s brightest commercial talents.

As for Shimit Amin, I very much liked Ab Tak Chhappan, even though RGV got the credit for it. Looking forward to Chak De India, but not the fact that SRK is in it.

I don't know what this film will turn out like, but I quite enjoyed Kabul Express - thought it was a refreshingly different YRF film.

And with regards to the same story being remade umpteen times........I don't remember any Hindi films about hockey.

I could not find any virtue in kabul express and immensely enjoyed bilb though!