I saw the movie twice. I liked the book better than the movie. The book had some anecdotes that touched my heart like Ashima leaving behind the paints and the brushes she bought for her father on the subway after her father died. Tabu could not portray the character of Ashima, a quintessentially Bengali housewife, for Tabu's lacked the softness which is so typical of a Bengali woman and her accent was horrible. . Irfan Khan was ok nothing extraordinary and at times his accent sounded peculiar not quite Bengali. Kal Penn was brilliant. I could see the typical American Indian in him confused and tied up between two sets of values and culture.
Ritu
Canada

I love this movie. I watched it yesterday and it was very touching! It made me appreciate my culture more. I am gujrati. I was born and raised here in america but I never want to loose my culture and values. This movie really made me realize that family and traditions are something you can never replace and should never take for granted. The acting was great in this movie and was sad.. but teaches americanized people a valuable lesson.

I watched it in Philadelphia, and the movie theater was packed! Great job to Mira Nair! :)

Janki Patel

Movie left a strong impression on us. We felt inside Calcutta and New York - so well blended. You go thru' an extreme tragedy when Ashok dies, and recociled with smooth transition. Irfan Khan, Kal Penn, and Tabu are outstanding. We felt the entertainment was worth several times the cost of ticket.

Anil and Madhu
Alexandria, VA

good

My wife and daughter watched this movie on saturday and suggested that I watch it too. I was about an hour early to the movie theater (as I didn't know the exact timings) and was the first and only person sitting in the auditorim. Then gradually the hall started filling up. I was expecting to see mostly Indian faces in the audiance, but it was mostly local Americans (of all mix except obvious Indians). The movie complex was a large one with 24 theaters. I became concerened that I may have entered a wrong auditoriam and was thinking about getting out and checking. Then I saw two sari clad Indian ladies entering. I assumed I was in the right place.

I found it to be a very enjoybale movie suitably created for international audience. Almost all of the full house audience enjoyed the movie spellbound. Thank you Mira for creating such a master piece. Thank you Jhumpa for your writings.

Saif Shahid
Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

Namesake….whose?

Mira Nair has provided a very lopsided view of the Bengali Psyche in Jhumpa Lahiri's Namesake. Namesake is the story of the tribulations, the conflicts and the dilemma of Ashoke & Ashima Ganguli, uprooted from their familiar Kolkata and displaced in an alien world. Nair has failed to see through Ashima and Ashoke's sentiments and emotions and in the process made a caricature of the Bengali trying hard to establish his identity in a world totally different, in adept at understanding traditional values. Irfan Khan as Ashoke Ganguli has done an excellent job and seems to be a perfect choice. He has very successfully portrayed the Bengali inflections while speaking English. Kal Penn as Gogol could not have been better. But Tabbu's Ashima was an absolute failure especially in the first half of the film. She lacked the softness, combined with the forthright, quintessential quality of the middle class Bengali intellectual. Nevertheless Tabbu proved her skill as a powerful actress in the 2nd half of the film. Probably it was Nair's obsession in presenting Kolkata her squalor, her crowds her multifaceted milieu and the essentially Bengali wit in the common man could not do justice to Lahiri's novel which stands in a class apart. The nitty gritties of a matured man -woman relationship could have been explored in a more subtle manner and this is where the film lacks in finesse.
Thus the film failed to project how the immigrant Bengali has adjusted with the American and carved a niche for himself in the Intellectual world. It seemed as if the Bengalis are only concerned about establishing their Bengali culture and that they have no other concern as conscientious individuals committed to society.

Sharmistha Chaudhuri
39 Southend Park
Calcutta 700029
West Bengal, India

Namesake….whose?

Mira Nair has provided a very lopsided view of the Bengali Psyche in Jhumpa Lahiri's Namesake. Namesake is the story of the tribulations, the conflicts and the dilemma of Ashoke & Ashima Ganguli, uprooted from their familiar Kolkata and displaced in an alien world. Nair has failed to see through Ashima and Ashoke's sentiments and emotions and in the process made a caricature of the Bengali trying hard to establish his identity in a world totally different, in adept at understanding traditional values. Irfan Khan as Ashoke Ganguli has done an excellent job and seems to be a perfect choice. He has very successfully portrayed the Bengali inflections while speaking English. Kal Penn as Gogol could not have been better. But Tabbu's Ashima was an absolute failure especially in the first half of the film. She lacked the softness, combined with the forthright, quintessential quality of the middle class Bengali intellectual. Nevertheless Tabbu proved her skill as a powerful actress in the 2nd half of the film. Probably it was Nair's obsession in presenting Kolkata her squalor, her crowds her multifaceted milieu and the essentially Bengali wit in the common man could not do justice to Lahiri's novel which stands in a class apart. The nitty gritties of a matured man -woman relationship could have been explored in a more subtle manner and this is where the film lacks in finesse.
Thus the film failed to project how the immigrant Bengali has adjusted with the American and carved a niche for himself in the Intellectual world. It seemed as if the Bengalis are only concerned about establishing their Bengali culture and that they have no other concern as conscientious individuals committed to society.

Sharmistha Chaudhuri
39 Southend Park
Calcutta 700029
West Bengal, India

I just saw it last week in Sherman Oaks... if I had only known Kal Penn would be at the Arclight on Saturday.. I would have waited another week... argh!

And I just found it The Namesake is going to start playing in Westlake Village (the town I live in)! Hmmpph!!!

I guess I'll just see it a 2nd time at matinee prices.