Movie Review: The Namesake - Oscar Grade Cinema !!!

After incorporating different cultures in “Mississippi Masala” & “Monsoon Wedding”, Director Mira Nair brings yet another enchanting & intensely moving story highlighting the Indian culture, “The Namesake”. This time she has taken Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel “The Namesake” and has transformed it into visual poetics. The movie is thoroughly engaging and conveys human detail.
 
The film captures the journey of two generations of the Ganguli family in US. An arranged marriage brings together studious engineer Ashok (Irrfan Khan) & classical singer Ashima (Tabu). They migrate to US & manage to adopt to American culture. The story soon shifts to second generation – their son Gogol (Kal Penn) and daughter Sonia (Sahira Nair). When Gogol grows up, he finds it difficult to adjust to his name & wonders why he had to be given such a strange name. He feels ashamed of it among his friends till that time when he learns from his father how he earned this name. He also falls in love with a rich girl Max (Jacinda Barrett) & starts living with her thereby slowly drifting from his family. Meanwhile, Ashok dies of a massive heart attack & thus follows a journey of self realization & going back to one’s own roots.
 
Director Mira Nair gives a charming & visual display of India’s wonderful culture. She succeeds in depicting an Indian family in a great cinematic format. She shuttles between Calcutta & New York showing various similarities like massive bridges, crowded buildings, etc. She has shown New York in its winter whites whereas 1970’s Calcutta is shown full of chaos and colour. Cinematography by Frederick Elmes is just superb. Even the sound track plays a pivotal role in creating long tracks of silence & solitary dialogues.
 
Irrfan Khan is stunning with his performance. He actually lived the character of Ashok. Tabu’s role seemed to be tailor-made for her. Moreover, the chemistry between Irrfan & Tabu is just remarkable. Kal Penn perfectly captures the inner turmoil of a young man torn between two cultures. Also, performances by Sahila Nair & Zuleikha Robinson are noteworthy.
 
The movie is truly a must watch…!!!