|
|
|
|
|
The Namesake |
|
|
| Movie: | The Namesake |
| Director: | Mira Nair |
| Genre: | Drama |
| Start Cast: |
Tabu, Irrfan Khan, Kal Penn, Sohan Chatterjee |
| Music: | Nitin Sawhney |
| Our Rating: | *** |
| Review By: | Ujjainee Bose |
|
|
 Mira Nair's latest film, The Namesake revolves around the disposition of an Indian boy, born in the U S. from two immigrant Bengali parents. It is his name, bestowed by his father at the hospital, a stopgap label, which became a disturbing identity for the tiny tot, as he grows up. Named after an eccentric Russian Poet, Gogol, whom the father (played by Irfan Khan) admired, the boy starts to see his name synonymous to everything he hates about his parent's culture. Continuous embarrassments amongst friends in college, later amongst colleagues in office make him feel even more disgusted about his father's idea of nomenclature.
|
|
 The strangeness of his name haunted him until the day he loses his father forever. It is after this loss that he starts realizing what his father meant to him and for the first time he tries to relate to his father's thoughts. Nair, known for her 2001 art-house hit "Monsoon Wedding", capped off this theme from Jhumpa Lahiri's emphatically praised book-The Namesake. Her experience in the celluloid business is reflected on the screen. Both the screenplay and photography are praiseworthy. The performance of each character in the film was commendable, though it is Tabu and Irfan Khan who garner all the limelight. The Khan histrionics are quite appreciative except the improper Bengali accents, which earned frowns on the faces of most Bengali audience. |
|
 Actor Kal Penn, whose claim to fame was as the comic mind in "Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle" is seen as a dramatic actor of wit and consequence? Jacinda Barrett (Maxine) plays Penn's American girl friend in the movie. If not outstanding, the performance doesn't go unnoticed. Zuleikha Robinson plays the snotty teenager turned fully Americanized Woman, Maushumi, who later becomes Gogol's wife. Known for her modest appearance in 'Hidalgo', the petite beauty does her part quite well. The movie's principal metaphor is the bridges. Be it Howrah bridge, or the 59th Street bridge, the story portrays the endeavors of a father to bridge the gap between his son's motherland and his own. The contrast between the ramshackle constructions dotting the noisy skinny alleys of Bengal and the desolate snow clad empty lanes of the US is consciously done to bring out the loneliness experienced by Ashima (Tabu), newly wed wife of Ashoke. (Irfan Khan) |
|
| back to movie list |
Go to Top |
|
|
 |
|
