Flying Bee: Created page with "{{short description|2006 Indian-American drama film}} {{other uses|Namesake (disambiguation)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}} {{Infobox film | name = The Names..."

2021-08-06T14:19:07Z

Created page with "{{short description|2006 Indian-American drama film}} {{other uses|Namesake (disambiguation)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}} {{Infobox film | name = The Names..."

New page

{{short description|2006 Indian-American drama film}}
{{other uses|Namesake (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}
{{Infobox film
| name = The Namesake
| image = The Namesake.jpg
| caption = Promotional poster
| director = [[Mira Nair]]
| producer = Mira Nair [[Lydia Dean Pilcher]]
| writer = [[Sooni Taraporevala]]
| based_on = {{Based on|''[[The Namesake (novel)|The Namesake]]''|[[Jhumpa Lahiri]]}}
| starring = [[Tabu (actress)|Tabu]] [[Irrfan Khan]] [[Kal Penn]] [[Zuleikha Robinson]] [[Jacinda Barrett]] [[Sebastian Roché]] Sahira Nair [[Ruma Guha Thakurta]] [[Sabyasachi Chakrabarty]] [[Supriya Devi]]
| music = [[Nitin Sawhney]]
| cinematography = [[Frederick Elmes]]
| editing = Allyson C. Johnson
| studio = [[Mirabai Films]] [[UTV Motion Pictures]] Entertainment Farm
| distributor = [[Fox Searchlight Pictures]]
| released = {{film date|df=yes|2006|9|2|[[Telluride Film Festival|Telluride]]|2007|3|9|United States|2007|3|23|India}}
| runtime = 121 minutes<ref name=reliable>{{Cite web |url=http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/namesake-film |title=THE NAMESAKE (12A) - BBFC |access-date=7 May 2017 |publisher=[[BBFC]]}}</ref>
| country = United States India
| language = English Bengali
| budget = $9.5 million <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0433416/?ref_=bo_se_r_1|title = The Namesake}}</ref>
| gross = {{US$|20.14 million|long=no}}<ref>{{mojo title|namesake}}</ref> 
}}

'''''The Namesake''''' is a 2006 [[English language]] [[Drama (film and television)|drama film]] directed by [[Mira Nair]] and written by [[Sooni Taraporevala]] based on the novel ''[[The Namesake (novel)|The Namesake]]'' by [[Jhumpa Lahiri]]. It stars [[Tabu (actress)|Tabu]], [[Irrfan Khan]], [[Kal Penn]] and Sahira Nair. The film was produced by [[Cinema of India|Indian]], [[Cinema of the United States|American]] and [[Cinema of Japan|Japanese studios]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The Namesake (2006) |url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b8b35eb14 |website=[[BFI]] |publisher=[[British Film Institute]] |access-date=3 April 2019 |language=en}}</ref> The 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.<ref name=rotten/>

==Plot==
''The Namesake'' depicts the struggles of Ashoke and Ashima Ganguli ([[Irrfan Khan]] and [[Tabu (actress)|Tabu]]), first-generation immigrants from the [[East India]]n state of [[West Bengal]] to the United States, and their American-born children Gogol ([[Kal Penn]]) and Sonia ([[Sahira Nair]]). The film takes place primarily in [[Kolkata]], [[New York City]], and suburbs of New York City.

The story begins as Ashoke and Ashima leave Calcutta 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 story chronicles Gogol's cross-cultural experiences <ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-02-15|title=The Namesake (2006) : When Cultures Clash|url=https://movierdo.com/the-namesake-2006-when-cultures-clash/|access-date=2020-07-12|website=Movierdo|language=en-US}}</ref> and his exploration of his Indian heritage, as the story shifts between the United States and India.

Gogol becomes a lazy, pot-smoking teenager indifferent to his cultural background. He resents many of the customs and traditions his family upholds and doesn't understand his parents. After a summer trip to India before starting college at Yale, Gogol starts opening up to his culture and becomes more accepting of it.

After college, Gogol uses his "good name" Nikhil (later shortened to Nick). He works as an architect and dates Maxine ([[Jacinda Barrett]]), a white American woman from a wealthy background, who is clueless about their cultural differences. Gogol falls in love with Maxine and introduces her to his parents, who struggle to understand his modern, American perspectives on dating, marriage and love. They are hesitant and guarded when meeting her. Gogol gets along with Maxine's family and feels closer to them than he does his own family.

Before he goes to Ohio for a teaching apprenticeship, Ashoke tells Gogol the story of how he came up with his name. Shortly after, while Gogol is on vacation with Maxine's family, Ashoke dies. Grieving, Gogol tries to be more like what he thinks his parents want him to be and begins following cultural customs more closely. He grows distant from Maxine and eventually breaks up with her.

Gogol rekindles a friendship with Moushumi ([[Zuleikha Robinson]]), the daughter of family friends. They begin dating and soon after get married. However, the marriage is short-lived as Moushumi, bored with being a wife, starts having an affair with an old boyfriend from Paris. Gogol divorces her, while Ashima blames herself for pressuring Gogol to marry a fellow Bengali. Gogol returns home to help Ashima pack the house when he finds the book Ashoke gave him as a graduation present. Searching for comfort, and accepting his new life alone, Gogol finally reads the stories written by his namesake on the train home.

As well as depicting Gogol/Nikhil's experiences, the film describes the courtship and marriage of Ashima and Ashoke, and the effect on the family from Ashoke's early death from a massive heart attack. Through experiencing his father's funeral rites on the banks of the [[Ganges]], Gogol begins to appreciate Indian culture. Ashima's decision to move on with her life, selling the suburban family home and returning to Calcutta, unifies and ends the story.

==Cast==
*[[Kal Penn]] as Nikhil "Gogol" Ganguli
**Soham Chatterjee as child Gogol aged 4 years
*[[Tabu (actress)|Tabu]] as Ashima Ganguli
*[[Irrfan Khan]] as Ashoke Ganguli
*Sahira Nair as Sonia Ganguli
*[[Jacinda Barrett]] as Maxine Ratcliffe
*[[Sebastian Roché]] as Chris
*[[Linus Roache]] as Mr Lawson (Gogol's teacher)
*[[Glenne Headly]] as Lydia
*[[Zuleikha Robinson]] as Moushumi Majumdar
*[[Ruma Guha Thakurta]] as Ashoke's mother
*[[Sabyasachi Chakrabarty]] as Ashima's father
*[[Supriya Devi]] as Ashima's grandmother
*Jagannath Guha as Ghosh
*Sukanya Chakraborty as Rini
*[[Tanushree Shankar]] as Ashima's mother
*Tamal Roy Choudhury as Ashoke's father
*[[Jhumpa Lahiri]] as Jhumpa Mashi

The film has cameo appearances by actor [[Samrat Chakrabarti]], academic [[Partha Chatterjee (scholar)]] and visual artist [[Naeem Mohaiemen]].

==Development==
Initially [[Rani Mukerji]] was considered for the principal lead, but due to scheduling conflicts, one role went to Tabu. Kal Penn was recommended to the novel by [[John Cho]] and strongly requested by Nair's son, who was a fan of Penn in [[Harold and Kumar]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://niralimagazine.com/2007/03/21-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-namesake/|title=Nirali Magazine - 21 Things You Didn't Know About The Namesake|first=Arun Kale, code fixes and updates by Stef|last=Pause|website=niralimagazine.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Why Rani, Abhishek lost out on Namesake |url=http://inhome.rediff.com/movies/2007/mar/23mira.htm |publisher=[[Rediff.com]] Movies |date=23 March 2007 }}</ref>

==Soundtrack==
The soundtrack has varied music: Indian, Anglo-Indian (by [[Nitin Sawhney]], influenced by [[Ravi Shankar]]'s music for [[Pather Panchali (film)|Pather Panchali]]),<ref>''Observer Music Monthly'' March 2007</ref> 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. As of 23 February 2009, the review aggregator [[Rotten Tomatoes]] reported that 86% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 126 reviews.<ref name=rotten>{{cite web|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/namesake/ |title=The Namesake - Rotten Tomatoes |access-date=23 February 2009 |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]}}</ref> [[Metacritic]] reported the film had an average score of 82 out of 100, based on 33 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/namesake |title=Namesake, The (2007): Reviews |access-date=5 January 2008 |website=[[Metacritic]]}}</ref>

===Top ten lists===
The film appeared on several critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2007.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/film/awards/2007/toptens.shtml |title=Metacritic: 2007 Film Critic Top Ten Lists |access-date=5 January 2008 |website=[[Metacritic]] |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080102102034/http://www.metacritic.com/film/awards/2007/toptens.shtml  |archive-date = 2 January 2008}}</ref>

*6th - Peter Rainer, ''[[The Christian Science Monitor]]''
*8th - Carrie Rickey, ''[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]''
*8th - Claudia Puig, ''[[USA Today]]''
*9th - [[James Berardinelli]], ReelViews

===Awards and nominations===
*'''Won''' - Love is Folly International Film Festival ([[Bulgaria]]) - "Golden Aphrodite" - [[Mira Nair]]
*Nominated - Casting Society of America - "Best Feature Film Casting" - Cindy Tolan
*Nominated - [[Gotham Awards 2007]] - "Best Film" - [[Mira Nair]] & Lydia Dean Pilcher
*Nominated - [[Independent Spirit Awards 2007|Independent Spirit Award]] - "Best Supporting Male" - [[Irrfan Khan]]

==See also==
*[[Nikolai Gogol]]'s "[[The Overcoat]]"

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb title|0433416}}
*[https://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi569835801 Official trailer]
*{{Amg movie|321285}}
*{{rotten-tomatoes|namesake}}
*{{metacritic film|the-namesake}}
*{{mojo title|namesake}}

{{Mira Nair}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Namesake, The}}
[[Category:2006 films]]
[[Category:2006 drama films]]
[[Category:Adultery in films]]
[[Category:American films]]
[[Category:Indian films]]
[[Category:American drama films]]
[[Category:Indian drama films]]
[[Category:Indian-American films]]
[[Category:English-language films]]
[[Category:English-language Indian films]]
[[Category:Japanese drama films]]
[[Category:Japanese films]]
[[Category:Films about immigration to the United States]]
[[Category:Films based on American novels]]
[[Category:Films based on Indian novels]]
[[Category:Films directed by Mira Nair]]
[[Category:Films set in Kolkata]]
[[Category:Films set in New York City]]
[[Category:Films shot in India]]
[[Category:Films shot in New York City]]
[[Category:Films shot in Kolkata]]
[[Category:Fox Searchlight Pictures films]]
[[Category:UTV Motion Pictures films]]
[[Category:Foreign films shot in India]]
[[Category:Asian-American drama films]]
[[Category:Mirabai Films films]]
{{source Wikipedia}}

The Namesake (movie) - Revision history

Flying Bee: Created page with "{{short description|2006 Indian-American drama film}} {{other uses|Namesake (disambiguation)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}} {{Infobox film | name = The Names..."