Drama: The Namesake

The Namesake (2006)

This movie starts with the touching story of a Bengali Bachelor, Ashoke Ganguli, and his arranged meeting to the beautiful Ashima. They are quickly married, and immediately return to Ashoke's apartment in New York City, where he is studying for his Phd. They soon have a couple of children, the first being a boy named "Gogol," which is the namesake of Ashoke's favorite writer, Nikolai Gogol. The movie then focuses on the cultural struggles the Gangulis face as both children grow up in American society, and how Gogol handles his role as the male heir to the name.

I really enjoyed this film, based on the book of the same name. I found the love story between Ashoke and Ashima to be very genuine, which helped me understand how an arranged marriage could turn to genuine affection. There are many more cultural taboos explained in the movie, which Gogol has to face during his years as an Bengali-American bachelor in present day United States. This is actually a great family movie, since it introduces us to the issues that many recent immigrants face integrating into a very ignorant American society.

Kal Penn, of Harold and Kumar fame, did a great job as Gogol. We are also introduced to the beautiful Tabu, who played Ashima, and Irfan Khan, who played a convincingly intellectual Ashoke. Both Tabu and Irfan are big stars in their native India, and this was a great forum for their introduction to American movies.

this was good