The Namesake

About the film

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. The film was filmed primarily in Kolkata (Calcutta), India, and New York City from 28 March to June 2005, with some scenes also shot in suburbs of New York and other locations like Sydney, Australia, and Agra, India. This 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.

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 sits on a train in India and encounters a man who encourages him to travel the world. Shortly after, the train crashes and Ashoke is one of the few survivors. Having had his leg broken and other body parts injured, he recovers at home with his parents.

Once he has recovered, he travels to the US to study. Two years into his PhD, his parents arrange a meeting between him and a girl named Ashima. The two like each other and are soon married.

Development

Director Mira Nair was inspired to make The Namesake after the sudden death of her mother-in-law due to medical malpractice, saying that "Jhumpa [Lahiri] has written in it of this terrible melancholy of losing a parent in a foreign country, which is exactly what I was experiencing.” Approximately a month out from shooting, Warner Bros. Pictures offered her the opportunity to direct Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on the strength of Vanity Fair. She credited her then fourteen-year-old son, Zohran Mamdani, with persuading her to direct The Namesake instead, saying that he had told her that while many good directors could make Harry Potter, only she could make The Namesake. Initially Rani Mukerji was considered for the principal lead, but due to scheduling conflicts with Karan Johar's Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, the role then went to Tabu. Nair initially considered Abhishek Bachchan for the role of Gogol, but Kal Penn was strongly recommended by her son, who was a fan of Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (in 2025, Penn returned the favor by helping Mamdani's campaign to become mayor of New York City); Penn had previously become interested in the project after reading the novel on the recommendation of John Cho, his Harold and Kumar co-star, and the two had discussed acquiring the film rights before learning that Nair was already working on an adaptation.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack has varied music: Indian, Anglo-Indian (by Nitin Sawhney, influenced by Ravi Shankar's music for Pather Panchali), 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. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 85% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 136 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "An ambitious exploration of the immigrant experience with a talented cast that serves the material well". Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 82 out of 100, based on 33 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".

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

6th – Peter Rainer, The Christian Science Monitor

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