The Namesake

Mira Nair’s latest directorial extravaganza is ‘The Namesake.” Based on the award winning novel by Jhumpa Lahiri, ‘The Namesake’ follows in the lives of a Bengali couple who immediately after their arranged marriage move to New York to pursue a better life for their future generation.

The film stars Bollywood actress, Tabu in one of the starring roles along with Irfan Khan and Kal Penn, whom many may remember from the comedy ‘Harold and Kumar’ as well as the recent release ‘Epic Movie’.

What happens when you leave the comforts of your home, your culture and your language in order to pursue dreams in a foreign land? How do you assimilate yourself into the culture and ideals present in a strange land? How do you remain connected to your roots? What do you teach your children? How much of yourself do you give away? What becomes of your identity?

These are common questions that many immigrants can relate to and identify with. The loss of culture; the need to be accepted and hardships are common themes and issues for many of us.

Tabu plays the role of an obedient wife and a caring mother, who is trying very hard to accept her son’s boycott of her customs and his need for an independent lifestyle. She brings emotion to the scene without uttering a single word. She brings to life the agony, loss and loneliness of life outside one’s own country. The strength of her character is slowly revealed as the film progresses.

This film is a must see for every individual that has left their home to pursue success, wealth and fame elsewhere. The issues faced by the central characters in the film can be applied to any culture and any time.

After watching this film I was able to understand the journey of my parents and the hardships they faced so that I could one day lift my head with pride at what we had achieved as a family and how we had retained our culture and our identity.

I would strongly recommend seeing this film and relating it to your life and understanding the journey your parents, your forefathers or even you, yourself have taken. There are lessons to be learnt and successes to be measured.