THE NAMESAKE

Drama

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Irrfan Khan: Ashoke Ganguli, Bengali immigrant to the United States
Tabu: his wife Ashima
Soham Chatterjee: their infant son Gogol
Kal Penn: the adolescent Gogol
Sahira Nair: his sister Sonia
Jacinda Barrett: Gogol’s girlfriend Maxine (aka Max)
Zuleikha Robinson: Moushimi, soon to be an arranged-marriage bride

REVIEW
There have been lots of movies about the generational and cultural conflicts that arise when bringing up children. What sets this one apart is the acting that is first-rate and the time devoted to the story, about 2 hours. But it takes that long to cover 25 years and not do it at a hurried pace.

Consequently it will not appeal to everyone. But anyone interested in a story about love and loyalty is in for a good time.

CLASSIFICATION
for sexuality/nudity, a scene of drug use, some disturbing images and brief language.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
When Ashoke first sees the baby in the hospital nursery, it’s evident that the child is not a newborn, more like a one-year-old?

At the termination of Gogol’s phone call to his mother we hear the dial tone when she hangs up. The dial tone is heard before dialing the number, not at the end of the call.

P.S.
Indian custom dictates that a "good name" be carefully selected as it is the one for public use. Since this process could take years, it is commonplace for Bengali parents to give their children a "pet" name until the more formal “good name” has been decided upon.

Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol (April 1809 - March 1852) was a nineteenth century Ukrainian author who wrote in Russian. The novel Dead Souls, the play Revizor and the short story Overcoat are counted among his masterpieces.