Synopsis
After moving from Calcutta to New York, members of the Ganguli family maintain a delicate balancing act between honoring the traditions of their native India and blending into American culture. Although parents Ashoke and Ashima are proud of the sacrifices they make to give their children opportunities, their son Gogol strives to forge his own identity without forgetting his heritage.
Your Movie Library
Cast
- Kal PennGogol / Nikhil
- TabuAshima Ganguli
- Irrfan KhanAshoke Ganguli
- Jacinda BarrettMaxine Ratliffe
- Zuleikha RobinsonMoushumi Mazoomdar
- Ruma Guha ThakurtaAshoke's Mother
- Sabyasachi ChakrabortyAshima's Father
- Sahira NairSonali Ganguli
- Supriya ChoudhuryAshima's Grandmother
- Jhumpa LahiriJhumpa Mashi
Recommendations
- 91
Entertainment Weekly
Moving and marvelous new cross-cultural family saga. - 91
Christian Science Monitor
The Namesake takes in a lot of territory, and at times is too diffuse, too attenuated. But the actors are so expressive that they provide their own continuity. They transport us to a realm of pure feeling. - 90
Los Angeles Times
Despite being rooted in knotty issues of identity, Lahiri's novel forgoes didacticism in favor of vivid portraiture. Nair and her uniformly superb cast take the same tack: The characters are individuals before they are emblems. - 88
Premiere
A thoroughly engaging, terrifically moving family story that's rich in beautifully observed and lovingly conveyed human detail. - 88
USA Today
An engaging and moving film with a universal story about the bonds of family as told through two generations of a Bengali family. - 80
Variety
A richly compelling story of family and self-discovery. - 80
Wall Street Journal
This immensely pleasurable film is anything but dry. It's a saga of the immigrant experience that captures the snap, crackle and pop of American life, along with the pounding pulse, emotional reticence, volcanic colors and cherished rituals of Indian culture. - 75
Rolling Stone
This is a generational family saga everyone can relate to, and Nair gives it her special magic.
