This is How Movies Should Be Made

terrible... so disappointed.

I was totally surprised at how great this film.You could feel your paranoia rise as the film went on and as you gradually learned the details of the real situation.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

An Indian man takes his new bride to America, where they raise a family and tackle everyday struggles of migration and identity. The Namesake is an exploration of what it means to be Indian and living in the diaspora. At times this is dealt with in a rather obvious and mundane manner, such as when the American girlfriend of second-generation Indian Gogol is too touchy-feely with older Indians, and wears the wrong colour clothes to a funeral. The lack of freshness and imagination in the cultural clashes is compensated for by a depth in charaterisation and subtlety in the depiction of family relations. The cinematography too depicts India as colourful and vibrant, but America is always muted, gray, and at times speckled with snow. India has been left behind for material and career gains, the pictures say, but something soulful and human has been lost in the process. This is slow-burn film, with no huge dramatic arcs, but instead full of the small dramas of day-to-day life authentically and sincerely depicted. This is a love-letter to the Indian experience of migration, diaspora and loss.

I have a request to Mira Nair.. please study Bengali psyche before you attempt to make such a movie. this movie is nothing but a masala mix of incidents with no concrete framework. Just by mixing scenes from Kolkata and USA does not give any impact to educated audience or global value. The editing is horrible. I am surprised by this kind of sloppy work from her specially after watching salam bombay and mississippi masala where she could prove that she knows how to make a movie. Sad to say this is a complete waste of money talent and time. The whole namesake theme was so cheap that it will wonder anyone with maturity that why the heck she went to make a movie about this.

I liked the Namesake. It doesn't have groundbreaking story lines or exceedingly deep characters. It's strength lies in it's more or less simple and straightforward storytelling and love-story of a Bengali couple's migration, growth, and life in the States from India. Particularly I liked the first hour or so of the cultural coupling and move. Irrfan Khan particularly did a great job as a grounded person and father and husband whose attitude toward life was particularly compelling (SPOILER) after his brush with death. The movie moves back and forth between India and families. Kal Penn's character goes through an interesting progression and seems to grow. Although Golgol seems to more or less disregard his parents. Some of the relationships especially with 1st girlfriend seem a bit far-fetched and underwritten. Anyway, The Namesake was a good movie worth a viewing.

This film begins in India in 1977. A young woman meets an eligible man in her parent's home and then, after approving the match, they are soon married. However, he lives in New York and so the bride is soon pulled into a strange new culture. The rest of the film revolves around this marriage and the two children from this union (in particular, the focus is on the son).I love Mira Nair's films, so I was favorably disposed towards this movie at the outset. However, while I am glad I watched it, I have two strong misgivings. First, because there is so much ground to cover (about 30 years of a family's history), the film comes off as very, very episodic. At times, the film jumps many years at a time and I found this disconcerting and I wanted to see more--because what we saw, I liked. Second, and this is related to my last complaint, is that because the film bounces around so much, the overall effect comes off as very cold and disconnected. Too often, I felt like I really didn't know the people at all. In other words, while the viewer learns about things these people do, who they are down deep is often an enigma. Plus, since you don't really get to know people, too often I had a hard time connected to them or caring about them when bad things occurred to them. Now perhaps this WAS the purpose of the film--the sense of emotional isolation and disconnect these people had, but still I wanted so much more.I guess my complaints are probably more severe than some viewers might have because I have already seen several films about Indians, Pakistanis and Chinese families living in Western countries (such as the US, Canada and UK), so the idea wasn't so novel. As for me, I know what I would have liked. Instead of a two hour movie, it would have been great to break this into two or even three films or perhaps a miniseries. Really--there's just so much stuff and so many wonderful moments that are missed otherwise. For a somewhat similar experience, try watching "Bollywood/Hollywood", "Bend It Like Beckham" or "Double Happiness"--all are excellent.On the positive side, however, it does give some insights into Indian culture and how tough it might be to live in a foreign culture--both for the first and second generation. Nice insights and some very touching moments.Overall, not a bad film at all and well worth seeing--just don't be surprised if it leaves you wanting a lot more.