The Namesake January 4, 2008

FLICS presents The Namesake

Dir: Mira Nair, India, 2006, 122 min, PG-13

From the director of Monsoon Wedding and Vanity Fair, The Namesake is a coming-of-age story about an Indian boy born in America who is trying to find a place in his life for both the traditions of his Indian heritage and the modern American lifestyle. Gogol Ganguli, named after the Russian writer, is born to parents joined by an arranged marriage in India. They move to New York before Gogol’s birth and at his birth they are forced to select a name for their son before leaving the hospital, contrary to Bengali tradition, so the name of the father’s favorite author is chosen. As a young person, Gogol realizes that his name is distinctive and decides that he wants to change it to Nikhil (which can be westernized as “Nick”). This name conflict is a symbol of Gogol’s dual identity. During his quest to understand his core values… his desires, Gogol struggles with which path to take; that which his family wishes for him, including marrying an Indian woman; or that which he wants, which involves dating a well-to-do American girlfriend.

Based on the novel by Jhumpa Lahiri.

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