The Namesake

The Namesake

By Mira Nair

  • Genre: Drama
  • Release Date: 2007-11-27
  • Advisory Rating: PG-13
  • Runtime: 2h 2min
  • Director: Mira Nair
  • Production Company: Fox Searchlight Pictures
  • Production Country: India, Japan, United States of America
  • iTunes Price: USD 14.99
  • iTunes Rent Price: USD 3.99
6.758/10
6.758
From 159 Ratings
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Description

On the heels of their arranged marriage, Ashoke (Irrfan Kahn) and Ashima (Tabu) jet off from sweltering Calcutta to a wintry New York where they begin their new life together. Virtual strangers to one another and with Ashima now living in a new and very strange land, their relationship quickly takes a turn when Ashima gives birth to a son. Under pressure to name him quickly, Ashoke settles on Gogol (Kal Penn), after the famous Russian author - a name that serves as a link to a secret past and, Ashoke hopes, a better future. But life isn't as easy for Gogol as his parents might wish. As a first-generation American teenager, Gogol must learn to tread a razor-thin line between his Bengali roots and his American birthright in the search for his own identity. As Gogol attempts to forge his destiny - rejecting his given name, dating a rich American girl, heading to study architecture at Yale - his parents cling to their Bengali traditions. But their paths keep crossing with both comic and painfully revelatory consequences… until Gogol begins to see the links between the world his parents left behind and the new world that lies in front of him.

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Reviews

  • Must see - especially if your parents are immigrants

    5
    By Tanitaz
    This movie is absolutely fantastic. I loved the book but the movie was no let down. Acting is brilliant and evokes so well growing up between cultures. I experienced a full range of emotions but left the experience feeling hopeful and full. Definitely check it out!

  • Must See

    5
    By SweetCupcake86
    This was a great story.. I haven't read this book in particular, but i am reading another book by the same author, and she is such a great writer. this movie had me smiling, and crying. It is a great movie about indian culture how through generations culture and tradition tend to fade and how it effects the parents and so forth. I really enjoyed it.

  • Great movie

    5
    By andreazk
    Good story. The story is just as much about the mother as it is about the son.

  • great story

    5
    By yadave
    this is an excellent film. The story is very touching and very moving. I think its hard sometimes to understand what immigrant families go through when they move to another country but it is always refreshing to get a perspective through a story such as this. You do have to be in a certain mood to watch this type of movie in general. give it a shot! worth the $

  • Tearfest

    5
    By mmarieden
    I cried from the beginning to the end of this movie. I think this is one of the best movies I've ever seen. The actors were amazing, directing, etc., just brilliant.

  • Long-winded but good

    4
    By louloufrida
    I'd say about 30% of this film could have been edited out, but it was beautiful to watch and very touching.

  • Sad But Great

    4
    By HorsegirlloverMyboys
    I loved this movie at first i didnt get it but then it all came together. i think i cried at some parts like with the phone call saying that his dad died:(. and than at the end there was some nudity. like theres a part where it shows the bottom. but then its fine. this is a great movie and great plot.

  • Book and movie

    2
    By merrysgirl04
    I first read the book last summer for school and I instantly feel in lvoe with story, especially because it comes from my own ethnic background and because I could practically relate to the main character. There were so many meanings throughout the book, so many themes that I feel like the movie failed to bring out. The movie, in my opinion, only emphasized the changing of his name rather than the connection from culture and one who owns that ethnic background. Okay movie, but if I had seen this movie first, I wouldn't have been able to relate to it so easily.

  • Read the Book!

    4
    By Ourit
    This is a beautiful film, and it is a great way to see some of India, but if you are moved by the story in this film- know that it is nothing compared to the book on which this film is only based on. to be clear- as far as reviewing this movie- it's a movie that you will not regret watching, even though it can move slowly at some points. It will interest you, inspire you, and leave you feeling complicated inside-i.e you will be moved. But that from which it came from is greater. Read the book!

  • A Love Story of a Different Sort

    5
    By The Bad Wolf
    This film was both touching and captivating, which are hard qualities to put together. The story between Gogol and his family, his father in particular, will make you want to pick up the phone and call your parents just to tell them how much you love them. A poignant and beautiful love story of a different sort.

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