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
Distributed by	Mirabai Films
Release date(s)	March 9, 2007
Language	English / Bengali / Hindi
IMDb profile

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. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (510x755, 169 KB) This image is of a movie poster, and the copyright for it is most likely owned by either the publisher of the movie or the studio which produced the movie in question. ... Mira Nair (born October 15, 1957 at Rourkela, Orissa) is an India-born, New York-based film director. ... Jhumpa Lahiri Vourvoulias (born Nilanjana Sudeshna in 1967) (Bengali: ঝুম্পা লাহিড়ী Jhumpa LahiÅ—i) is a contemporary Indian American author based in New York City. ... Sooni Taraporevala is best known as the screenwriter for the Oscar-nominated Salaam Bombay! and Mississippi Masala, both directed by Mira Nair. ... Tabu (born Tabassum Hashmi on November 4, 1970 in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India) is an award-winning Indian actress who has acted in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil films. ... Irfan Khan is an Indian theatre and film actor. ... Kal Penn (born Kalpen Suresh Modi on April 23, 1977) is an American actor. ... Zuleikha Robinson is a British actress born in 1978 best known for playing Yves Adele Harlow in the X-Files spin-off, The Lone Gunmen. ... Jacinda Barrett (born August 2, 1972, in Brisbane, Queensland) is an Australian model turned actress. ... Mirabai Films is a film company founded by director Mira Nair. ... March 9 is the 68th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (69th in leap years). ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini (common) era. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Bengali or Bangla (বাংলা, IPA: ) is an Indo-Aryan language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from Prakrit, Pāli and Sanskrit. ... Hindi (Devanagari: or  ;; IPA: ), an Indo-European language spoken mainly in northern and central India, is one of the official languages of the Union government of India. ... // 2007 in films has been designated as Battle of the Sequels 2 simply because of its inclusion of the highly anticipated sequels Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End, Spider-Man 3, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer and Shrek... March 9 is the 68th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (69th in leap years). ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini (common) era. ...

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. Mira Nair (born October 15, 1957 at Rourkela, Orissa) is an India-born, New York-based film director. ... For the film of the same name, see The Namesake (film) The Namesake (2003) is the second book by author Jhumpa Lahiri. ... Jhumpa Lahiri Vourvoulias (born Nilanjana Sudeshna in 1967) (Bengali: ঝুম্পা লাহিড়ী Jhumpa Lahiŗi) is a contemporary Indian American author based in New York City. ... Sooni Taraporevala is best known as the screenwriter for the Oscar-nominated Salaam Bombay! and Mississippi Masala, both directed by Mira Nair. ...

Plot

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 featured locales are Kolkata, India, Queens, New York, and the New York City suburbs of Nyack and Oyster Bay. Bengal (Bengali: বঙ্গ Bôngo, বাংলা Bangla, বঙ্গদেশ Bôngodesh or বাংলাদেশ Bangladesh), is a historical and geographical region in the northeast of South Asia. ... Tabu (born Tabassum Hashmi on November 4, 1970 in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India) is an award-winning Indian actress who has acted in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil films. ... Irfan Khan is an Indian theatre and film actor. ... Kal Penn (born Kalpen Suresh Modi on April 23, 1977) is an American actor. ...   (IPA: [] Bengali: কলকাতা) (formerly  ) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. ... Queens Borough in New York City, in yellow Queens is one of the five boroughs of New York City, USA. Geographically the largest borough in the city, Queens is home to many immigrants and two of New Yorks major airports. ... Nyack is a village located in Rockland County, New York. ... Oyster Bay is the name of several places: Oyster Bay, New York, a hamlet in the town of Oyster Bay (town), New York, on Long Island, New York, United States of America Oyster Bay, Florida, a bay in Lee County, Florida, United States of America Oyster Bay, New South Wales...

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 Russian 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. Nikolai Gogol by Alexander Ivanov Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol (Russian: IPA: ) (April 1, 1809 — March 4, 1852) was a Russian-language writer of Ukrainian origin. ... Jacinda Barrett (born August 2, 1972, in Brisbane, Queensland) is an Australian model turned actress. ... Zuleikha Robinson is a British actress born in 1978 best known for playing Yves Adele Harlow in the X-Files spin-off, The Lone Gunmen. ...

Cast

• Tabu as Ashima Ganguli
• Irfan Khan as Ashoke Ganguli
• Kal Penn as Gogol
• Sahira Nair as Sonali
• Jacinda Barrett as Maxine
• Zuleikha Robinson as Moushumi

Tabu (born Tabassum Hashmi on November 4, 1970 in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India) is an award-winning Indian actress who has acted in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil films. ... Irfan Khan is an Indian theatre and film actor. ... Kal Penn (born Kalpen Suresh Modi on April 23, 1977) is an American actor. ... Jacinda Barrett (born August 2, 1972, in Brisbane, Queensland) is an Australian model turned actress. ... Zuleikha Robinson is a British actress born in 1978 best known for playing Yves Adele Harlow in the X-Files spin-off, The Lone Gunmen. ...

Soundtrack

The soundtrack has varied music, Indian, Anglo-Indian, 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. Electronica is a term that covers a wide range of electronic or electronic-influenced music. ... State of Bengal blends Indian beats with Western lyrics. ...

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, appears in the film as Aunt Jhumpa.
• Mira Nair initially wanted Rani Mukherjee to play the role of Ashima after she had seen her in Karan Johar's Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna. She could not 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]
• Like the character he plays, actor Kal Penn modified his name from Kalpen Modi, when his agents suggested he anglicize it to get more auditions in Hollywood. And like Tabu, he was also not Mira Nair's first choice for the role, even though he contacted her several times about it. Finally, her son, who had loved Kal Penn's performance in Harold and Kumar go to White Castle convinced her to audition Penn for the role.
• 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.
• The novel was set in Boston, Massachusetts, but the locale was moved to New York City in the film adaptation. The timing of events in the movie is also about ten years later than the novel.
• Renowned Subaltern Studies project scholar Partha Chatterjee, famous for his work on nationalism has a cameo in the film, credited as Reformed Hindu.
• The book Ashoke presents Gogol on his graduation in June 1995, a relatively new translation of Nikolai Gogol's short stories by Pevear and Volokhonsky, was not actually published until 1998.^[2]
• Actors Irfan Khan and Tabu starred together as a rather different kind of couple in Maqbool, an adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth set in the Bombay underworld.

Jhumpa Lahiri Vourvoulias (born Nilanjana Sudeshna in 1967) (Bengali: ঝুম্পা লাহিড়ী Jhumpa LahiÅ—i) is a contemporary Indian American author based in New York City. ... For the film of the same name, see The Namesake (film) The Namesake (2003) is the second book by author Jhumpa Lahiri. ... Mira Nair (born October 15, 1957 at Rourkela, Orissa) is an India-born, New York-based film director. ... Rani Mukherjee (Bengali: (also known as Rani Mukerji), born March 21, 1978 in Bengal, India) is a six-time Filmfare Award-winning Indian film actress. ... Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna (English: Never say goodbye) is a forthcoming movie produced and directed by Karan Johar. ... Mira Nair (born October 15, 1957 at Rourkela, Orissa) is an India-born, New York-based film director. ... Konkona Sen Sharma is a Indian actress. ... Aparna Sen (née Dasgupta) (Bengali: অপর্ণা সেন Ôporna Shen) (October 25, 1945 - ) is a Bengali Indian actress and film director and mother of actress Konkona Sen Sharma. ... 15, Park Avenue is a movie made by the acclaimed Indian Bengali director Aparna Sen. ... Tabu (born Tabassum Hashmi on November 4, 1970 in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India) is an award-winning Indian actress who has acted in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil films. ... Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (published internationally under the title Harold and Kumar get the Munchies) is a 2004 stoner movie that explores stereotypes, especially racial, in American culture. ... Mira Nair (born October 15, 1957 at Rourkela, Orissa) is an India-born, New York-based film director. ... Sooni Taraporevala is best known as the screenwriter for the Oscar-nominated Salaam Bombay! and Mississippi Masala, both directed by Mira Nair. ... Sooni Taraporevala is best known as the screenwriter for the Oscar-nominated Salaam Bombay! and Mississippi Masala, both directed by Mira Nair. ... A Parsi (Gujarati: PārsÄ«, IPA: ), sometimes spelled Parsee, is a member of the close-knit Zoroastrian community based in the Indian subcontinent. ... Zoroastrianism was adapted from an earlier, polytheistic faith by Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) in Persia very roughly around 1000 BC (although, in the absence of written records, some scholars estimates are as late as 600 BC). ... Nickname: City on the Hill, Beantown, Athens of America, The Hub (of the Universe)1 Location in Massachusetts, USA Coordinates: Country United States State Massachusetts County Suffolk County Government  - Mayor Thomas M. Menino (D) Area  - City  89. ... New York, NY redirects here. ... The Subaltern Studies Group (SSG) or Subaltern Studies Collective are a group of South Asian scholars interested in the postcolonial and post-imperial societies of South Asia in particular and the developing world in general. ... Partha Chatterjee is an internationally renowned Subaltern Studies and Postcolonial scholar. ... Eugène Delacroixs Liberty Leading the People, symbolising French nationalism during the July Revolution. ... Richard Pevear is an American-born poet and translator who frequently collaborates with his wife, Larissa Volokhonsky, on translations of works mainly in Russian, but also French, Italian and Greek. ... Maqbool (2004), directed by Vishal Bharadwaj and starring Pankaj Kapoor, Irfan Khan and Tabu is an adaptation of the play macbeth by Shakespeare Categories: Movie stubs ... Scene from Macbeth, depicting the witches conjuring of an apparition in Act IV, Scene I. Painting by William Rimmer Macbeth is among the most famous of William Shakespeares plays, as well as his shortest tragedy. ...

See Also

• Nikolai Gogol's The Overcoat

Nikolai Gogol by Alexander Ivanov Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol (Russian: IPA: ) (April 1, 1809 — March 4, 1852) was a Russian-language writer of Ukrainian origin. ... Cover by Igor Grabar, 1890s For the Russian animated film, see The Overcoat (animated film). ...

External links

• Audio Interview of Mira Nair- Director of "The Namesake"
• A very popular review of the Movie "The Namesake"
• Review of Movie Namesake at Bollywood-buzz.com
• 21 Things You Didn't Know About The Namesake, Nirali Magazine, March 2007
• Trailer
• Blog by lead actor Kal Penn
• Video interview with "The Namesake" director Mira Nair on Sidewalks Entertainment
  
• Mitali Bhawmik's website