The Namesake

The Namesake follows the Ganguli family, who leave Calcutta for New York shortly after an arranged marriage. Ashoke and Ashima raise their children in America while holding on to Bengali traditions, and their son Gogol grows up caught between the life around him and the heritage his parents want him to keep. His name, chosen by his father, ties him to a Russian writer, and it becomes one of the things he struggles with as he tries to work out who he is. Much of the film concerns Gogol's attempts to move through American life, including a relationship with a young woman named Maxine, while his parents maintain their own bonds to the community and customs they left behind.

The film was directed by Mira Nair, whose earlier features include Salaam Bombay!, Mississippi Masala and Monsoon Wedding; it sits seventh in her filmography and came two years after Vanity Fair. Sooni Taraporevala wrote the screenplay, and the cast is led by Kal Penn as Gogol, with Irrfan Khan and Tabu as his parents. It was made for about 10 million dollars and returned roughly twice that worldwide. On IMDb it holds 7.5 out of 10 from around 23,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.8 from 194 votes, while a critics' rating stands at 7.6 from 136 reviews.