The Namesake

PG-13

Released Mar 9, 2007

2 hr. 2 min.

Drama

List

85%

136 Reviews

Tomatometer

79%

50,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

After moving from Calcutta to New York, members of the Ganguli family maintain a delicate balancing act between honoring the traditions of their native India and blending into American culture. Although parents Ashoke (Irrfan Khan) and Ashima (Tabu) are proud of the sacrifices they make to give their offspring opportunities, their son Gogol (Kal Penn) strives to forge his own identity without forgetting his heritage.

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Critics Consensus

An ambitious exploration of the immigrant experience with a talented cast that serves the material well.

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donnie m

i LOVED this movie-so many messages about what love is and what it isn't

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/08/23

Full Review

Ken R

Director/producer Mira Nair (Vanity Fair'04) brings yet another deeply personal story to the screen - based on the book by Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Jhumpa Lahiri, with a screen adaption by prize winner Sooni Taraporevala. Director Nair invests a great deal of effort into analyzing the generation gap in an Indian-American family, as they navigate their differences in moral and ethical issues, alongside their traditional family ties from the mother country. Irrfran Kahn (Life of Pi) gives us another superb performance as the father, while gifted Indian actress Tabu equals him as his dedicated wife. Together they try earnestly to connect with their adolescent son (Kal Penn) who's drifting towards a ‘modern' shallow existence - failing to connect with those who have dedicated their lives to supplying a loving family base. Cinematography and Music play an important part in guiding the audience's attention through the multi-layered issues that live within this quality, mature work.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

06/26/23

Full Review

Sarthak B

this film reminds me of Rust Cohle's monologue from True Detective. It goes like, "We are things that labor under the illusion of having a self, that accretion of sensory experience and feelings, programmed with total assurance that we are each somebody, when in fact everybody's nobody..." It is through the means of this film, that Mira Nair completely proves this monologue wrong, and I couldn't be more glad. we each are, in reality, somebody. we all have some sort of identity. that identity may not be something you understand but it certainly means so much for someone else and you changing that just because you don't like it is the most cruel thing you can do to a person. a story you might've rarely seen before and will ever see again. I fell in love with the aesthetics of this film and the themes it covers. self-discovery, appreciation of one's own culture, family solidarity, the circle of life are just the tip of the iceberg. Mira Nair truly turns Jhumpa Lahiri's gentle, evocative novel into a gentle, evocative film. it makes you feel things. a bengali couple growing their children in the states only for them to be more inclined towards american culture rather than indian culture is something we've all seen before but there is just something about this film that gives you hope. it tells you that no matter how much one runs away from his heritage and culture, there will always come a time where it catches up with them and by then, it's too late. the film's best parts for me are the subtle, loving performances by Tabu and Irrfan. they never overplay, never spell out what can be said in a glance or a shrug, communicate great passion with mere silence. Irrfan was the highlight of the film for me. he plays this reserved, quite-like, calm and wise person whose emotions don't betray him. his performance truly sells him as Ashok Ganguli, and when certain things happen in the film, make you cry your heart out. When Ashok was convincing Ashima to open the door, I was floored by how intimate that scene felt even though both of them were in different rooms. All that happened because of Irrfan's fantastic dialogue delivery and body language. Tabu, on the other hand, as Ashima, is perhaps at her best. I've seen her in many films and have praised the hell out of them but here, it's just on a whole different level. My God! is she an amazing actress!!! I've said this before and I'll say it again, Tabu needs to be kept in a gold vault and be protected forever. Kal Penn was also really good. His character is the one who suffers the most dire consequences for his actions and it all starts because he chose to kept his name Gogol instead of Nikhil when he was 4 years old. the film provides us with impactful scenes as to why his name being Gogol matters and why does it mean so much to Ashok. the music is also quite well composed. being a blend of indian classical and western pop with a hint of hip-hop feels weird to achieve but the film somehow manages it with good enough results! one thing I'd like to say is how well Smoking is used in the film. we know after a certain point in the film that Ashok is quite a smoker, maybe not extensive but he always has a couple cigarettes with him. this habit eventually leads to one of the most heartbreaking moments in the film sure, but it is those other little things that got me by surprise. there are a lot of things, but just for an example, take a look at the scene when ashok gives gogol a graduation present. we immediately get the sense that ashok is nervous because of the generational and cultural gap between him and his son. this is excellently conveyed throughout the scene where Ashok is constantly licking his lips which are a consequence of smoking which give dry lips in situations of nervousness. this licking of lips is played many times throughout the film to covey tension and nervousness. there are many little things like this but it'll just make this thing longer and quite possibly, boring for you. in short, please please watch this film. you will go through a series of emotions you might've rarely experienced before.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/13/23

Full Review

lanfranco c

Is it possible to overcome the culture clash?

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I read the book first, and recommend that, as there is much more content in the book that there isn't time for in the movie. But the movie added a wonderful taste of the flavor of the Bengali lives, and the actors playing the mother and father were superb and made those characters really come alive.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/17/23

Full Review

nilufer e

It was a pretty good generational drama. I enjoyed most of it, Irrfan Khan can make any movie watchable. I didn't like the pretentious son and his acting though.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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Mira Nair

Director

Kal Penn

Gogol Ganguli

Tabu

Ashima Ganguli

Irrfan Khan

Ashoke Ganguli

Zuleikha Robinson

Moushumi Mazoomdar

Jacinda Barrett

Maxine

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Shubhra Gupta

The Indian Express

Mira Nair turns Jhumpa Lahiri's gentle, evocative novel The Namesake, into a gentle, evocative film.

Jun 19, 2019

Full Review

Namrata Joshi

Outlook

There are bound to be quibbles about whether they get their Bengali right or whether Nair captures the culture and ethos. But it still can't take much away from this humane, warm and elegantly crafted film.

Rated: 3/4

Jan 24, 2019

Full Review

Roxana Hadadi

Pajiba

The Namesake captures the interior struggle between centuries of history and the appeal of living only in the now, and it's grippingly beautiful and overwhelmingly moving.

Aug 23, 2018

Full Review

Yasser Medina

Cinefilia

Indian director Mira Nair's film has noble intentions that become noticeable from the preamble, but to me it seems as a flat and very dull drama about family, immigration, and cultural traditionalism. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 4/10

Jan 6, 2021

Full Review

Leigh Paatsch

Herald Sun (Australia)

One of those films that easily wins your respect, but struggles to hold your attention.

Rated: 2.5/5

May 12, 2020

Full Review

Felicia Feaster

Creative Loafing

[Nair's] film covers so much ground that it's hard to sustain emotional investment in its characters.

Feb 3, 2020

Full Review

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Synopsis

After moving from Calcutta to New York, members of the Ganguli family maintain a delicate balancing act between honoring the traditions of their native India and blending into American culture. Although parents Ashoke (Irrfan Khan) and Ashima (Tabu) are proud of the sacrifices they make to give their offspring opportunities, their son Gogol (Kal Penn) strives to forge his own identity without forgetting his heritage.

Director: Mira Nair
Executive Producer: Ronnie Screwvala, Yasushi Kotani, Taizo Son
Screenwriter: Sooni Taraporevala
Distributor: Fox
Production Co: Mirabai Films
Rating: PG-13 (Brief Language|A Scene of Drug Use|Sexuality/Nudity|Some Disturbing Images)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 9, 2007, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 12, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $13.6M
Sound Mix: Dolby, SDDS, DTS

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