The Namesake

A film about a Bengali family who emigrate to America. As a young man Ashoke survives a train crash. He had a book in his hand that night, and the rescue party found him because he moved its pages. The author was Nikolai Gogol. Years later he settles in America, marries Ashima in an arranged match, and they move to New York. When their son is born the hospital wants a name and Ashoke gives the one that comes to him: Gogol. The subject is that name. As the boy grows he is ashamed of it; it is neither Bengali nor English, belonging neither to the family nor to the country he lives in. He changes it, and for years does not know why his father chose it. The narrative runs two generations together: parents trying to get used to a place, and a child who belongs fully nowhere. The source is Jhumpa Lahiri's novel. Kal Penn plays Gogol, Irrfan Khan his father and Tabu his mother. The performances of Khan and Tabu are what the film is most praised for. Mira Nair directed. A carefully made example for anyone who likes migration stories and family drama. For a viewer expecting pace, the film spreads across a long span of time and moves calmly.