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{{short description|2006 Indian-American drama film by Mira Nair}}
{{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<br />[[Lydia Dean Pilcher]]
| screenplay = [[Sooni Taraporevala]]
| based_on = {{Based on|''[[The Namesake (novel)|The Namesake]]''|[[Jhumpa Lahiri]]}}
| starring = [[Kal Penn]]<br />[[Tabu (actress)|Tabu]]<br />[[Irrfan Khan]]<br />[[Zuleikha Robinson]]<br />[[Jacinda Barrett]]<br />[[Sebastian Roché]]<br />Sahira Nair<br />[[Ruma Guha Thakurta]]<br />[[Sabyasachi Chakrabarty]]<br />[[Supriya Devi]]
| music = [[Nitin Sawhney]]
| cinematography = [[Frederick Elmes]]
| editing = Allyson C. Johnson
| studio = [[UTV Motion Pictures]]<br />[[Mirabai Films]]<br />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=https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/the-namesake-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc00mtywmje |title=The Namesake (12) |access-date=7 May 2017 |website=[[BBFC]] |archive-date=10 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221010222148/https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/the-namesake-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc00mtywmje |url-status=live }}</ref>
| country = United States<br />India<br />Japan
| language = English<br>Bengali
| budget = $9.5 million<ref name="Box Office Mojo">{{Cite Box Office Mojo |id=0433416 |access-date=2024-12-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203103330/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0433416/ |archive-date=2023-02-03 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| gross = {{US$|20.4 million|long=no}}<ref name="Box Office Mojo"/> <!-- Must be attributed to a reliable published source -->
}}
'''''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 [[Kal Penn]], [[Tabu (actress)|Tabu]], [[Irrfan Khan]] 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 |archive-date=4 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181204200145/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b8b35eb14 |url-status=dead }}</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/>
==
''The Namesake'' depicts the struggles of Ashoke and Ashima Ganguli, [[first-generation immigrant]]s 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 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 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|archive-date=25 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230625095501/https://movierdo.com/the-namesake-2006-when-cultures-clash/|url-status=live}}</ref> and his exploration of his Bengali heritage, as the story primarily shifts between the United States and Kolkata.
Gogol becomes a lazy, [[cannabis (drug)|cannabis]]-smoking teenager who is indifferent to his cultural background. He resents many of the customs and traditions his family upholds and doesn't understand his parents. After an eight month long trip to India before starting college at Yale, Gogol starts opening up to his culture and becomes more accepting of it.
Shortly after his eighteenth birthday, much to his parents' annoyance, Gogol legally changes his name to "Nikhil", (the name he had supposedly refused to be addressed by when he was in kindergarten). In college, Gogol uses his "good name" Nikhil (later shortened to Nick). He works as an architect and dates Maxine, a white American woman from a wealthy background, who is clueless about their cultural differences. Gogol 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 a nearly fatal train accident that he had suffered years ago back in [[India]] and 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, 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 (''The Collected Tales and Plays by Nikolai Gogol'')<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Journey of Jhumpa Lahiri’s "The Namesake" from Fiction to Film: A Study on Intersemiotic Translation |journal=Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research |last=Mohanty |first=Pupul |date=2022-02-01 |url=https://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2202337.pdf |volume=9 |issue=2 |pages=288 |url-status=live |format=PDF |publication-place=Ahmedabad, India |eissn=2349-5162 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230925223939/https://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2202337.pdf |archive-date=2023-09-25 |access-date=2024-12-05}}</ref> which Ashoke had gifted him on his fourteenth birthday. 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 [[Indian rituals after death|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 Kolkata for part of each year, unifies and ends the story.
==Cast==
*[[Kal Penn]] as Nikhil "Gogol" Ganguli
**Soham Chatterjee as child Gogol aged four 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 Wright
*[[Linus Roache]] as Mr Joshua 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)|Partha Chatterjee]] and visual artist [[Naeem Mohaiemen]].
==Development==
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. Kal Penn was recommended for the movie 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|access-date=3 October 2016|archive-date=7 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171007021244/https://niralimagazine.com/2007/03/21-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-namesake/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Why Rani, Abhishek lost out on Namesake |url=http://inhome.rediff.com/movies/2007/mar/23mira.htm |website=[[Rediff.com]] |date=23 March 2007 |access-date=12 March 2011 |archive-date=15 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715165616/http://inhome.rediff.com/movies/2007/mar/23mira.htm |url-status=live }}</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. 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".<ref name=rotten>{{cite web |url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/namesake/ |title=The Namesake |access-date=1 August 2024 |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |archive-date=4 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150804092828/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/namesake/ |url-status=live }}</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=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-namesake/ |title=The Namesake |access-date=1 August 2024 |website=[[Metacritic]] |archive-date=17 January 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080117230616/http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/namesake |url-status=live }}</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 <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |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]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-03-04 |title=Ретроспекция Любовта е Лудост {{!}} IFF "Love Is Folly" |url=https://loveisfolly.com/en/retrospection/ |access-date=2022-10-10 |language=bg |archive-date=10 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221010225157/https://loveisfolly.com/en/retrospection/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
*Nominated – Casting Society of America – "Best Feature Film Casting" – [[Cindy Tolan]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=2007 Artios Awards |url=https://www.castingsociety.com/awards/artios/2007 |access-date=2022-10-10 |website=www.castingsociety.com |language=en |archive-date=26 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200326224007/https://www.castingsociety.com/awards/artios/2007 |url-status=live }}</ref>
*Nominated – [[Gotham Awards 2007]] – "Best Film" – [[Mira Nair]] and Lydia Dean Pilcher<ref>{{Cite web |date=2007-10-22 |title=17th Annual Gotham Awards Unveil Nominees for Year's Best Independent Films |url=https://www.prweb.com/releases/2007/10/prweb563097.htm |access-date=2022-10-10 |website=PRWeb |archive-date=10 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221010222149/https://www.prweb.com/releases/2007/10/prweb563097.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>
*Nominated – [[Independent Spirit Awards 2007|Independent Spirit Award]] – "Best Supporting Male" – [[Irrfan Khan]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sciretta |first=Peter |date=2007-11-27 |title=Independent Spirit Awards Nominations: A Look At The Best Indie Films Of 2007 |url=https://www.slashfilm.com/497556/independent-spirit-awards-nominations-a-look-at-the-best-indie-films-of-2007/ |access-date=2022-10-10 |website=[[/Film]] |language=en-US |archive-date=10 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221010222147/https://www.slashfilm.com/497556/independent-spirit-awards-nominations-a-look-at-the-best-indie-films-of-2007/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
==See also==
*[[Nikolai Gogol]]'s "[[The Overcoat]]"
== References ==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*{{IMDb title}}
*{{Rotten Tomatoes}}
*{{Metacritic film}}
*{{mojo title|namesake}}
*[https://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi569835801 Official trailer]
{{Mira Nair}}
{{AARP Movies for Grownups Award for Best Intergenerational Film}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Namesake, The}}
[[Category:2006 films]]
[[Category:2006 drama films]]
[[Category:American drama films]]
[[Category:American independent films]]
[[Category:Indian drama films]]
[[Category:Indian independent films]]
[[Category:Films about Indian Americans]]
[[Category:Films scored by Nitin Sawhney]]
[[Category:English-language Indian films]]
[[Category:English-language Japanese films]]
[[Category:Japanese drama films]]
[[Category:Japanese independent films]]
[[Category:Films about adultery in the United States]]
[[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:Asian-American drama films]]
[[Category:Mirabai Films films]]
[[Category:2000s American films]]
[[Category:2006 independent films]]
[[Category:2000s Japanese films]]
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