graham retzik, where are you? kath and i want to get back in touch with you. email me at delcampe@yahoo.com

maria (bassaro) delcampe

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

Hi there, this is Nancy Utley from Fox Searchlight. I was at the Namesake event in NY last week and it was great to see Kal Penn do a Q & A with our director Mira Nair after the event. It was moderated by Peter Herbst, editor of Premiere Magazine. Mira is one of the most impressive people I have ever met, and Kal is a very articulate and interesting speaker. Peter asked some great questions so it was a very satisfying evening followed by dinner at Tavern on the Green in Central Park. At Tavern, they were gearing up for the New York Marathon and were going to serve pasta to 15,000 people in preparation for the race.

The next night we were out in Astoria with the filmmakers and cast from Fast Food Nation, at the Museum of the Moving Image. Another great night. From the film we were lucky to have Richard Linklater, Eric Schlosser, Bobby Canavale, Wilmer Valderama, Lou Taylor Pucci, Paul Dano and our producer Jeremy Thomas who was in from London. It was fun to see Paul Dano because he is also in our Little Miss Sunshine so he is our special Searchight disenfranchised teen.

During the film, those of us who have seen it dozens of times had a wonderful dinner at a local mom 'n pop Greek restaurant. Then back for the Q & A and up to the museum for food and drinks. The museum has this cool thing where you can act crazy for three minutes while a camera takes a series of pictures; then you get this cool flipbook of your antics. Different combinations of Searchlighters and guests were taking advantage of this opportunity.

A whirlwind trip to NY for me...a great opportunity for our creative, artistic films to connect with audiences...and some fun thrown in. People would kill to have these jobs. I keep reminding myself at times of pressure...