I usually don't review movies here, given how frequently I watch them ..this place otherwise would become a page outta filmare.
I absolutely don't recommend movies, afterall tastes differ, expectations differ and what one wants out of a $10 bill and 2-3 hrs of time spent in a dark theatre also differ from person to person.

But right now, right here, am gonna make an exception for purely selfish reasons. So, if you have not seen "The Namesake", run , grab a ticket and watch it and yeah, do take a friend or two along. For I want such movies to succeed so that I can see more of them.

Namesake is a brilliant movie. I don't remember when was it the last time that I walked in a movie theatre with very high expectations and walked out with those expectations surpassed.

Let's talk about what I liked about the movie. Namesake has a very comfortable pace, it doesn't rush past you leaving you with a feeling that something happened though you can't really say what. It flows at a speed which gives you enough time not just to get in the moment but to get intimate with the moment. And that intimacy is made possible by actors who not only talk to each other on screen but also talk to you. Tabu and Kal Penn have got into their characters effortlessly, right from the moment when Ashima steps into Made in USA shoes of her future husband till long after Gogol gets into shoes of his father, there is not a scene where you can pick even a slight fault. But, the man who would make you kneel down and bow to him is Irfaan Khan...errr Ashok Ganguli ....I once attended an acting workshop and trainer there kept telling all of us , you don't act just with your face, you act with your whole body......and oh man what an actor Irfaan Khan is ....he talks with his turn of head, he talks with his eyes, he talks with his postures and when he talks - he talks with a perfect accent. I liked him in Haasil, I liked him a lot in Maqbool but in Namesake he has gone a step ahead.

One of my friend, who saw the movie felt that story is nothing new.....am sure that was an after thought. Artists for ages are painting the same sun setting in the sea. But go take a look at paintings from two different artists and you would know how different can the same sun be when seen by different people. Work of art are not judged by an invenory list of what's contained in a painting, so if my painting has a sun, sea, boat, rainbow and another has same 4 things they are not the same. That's why they call it an artist's impression. And Namesake is a beautiful impression about journey of a family across seas, culture, ways of life and wheel of time. It's about people and their lives and no story can surpass that.

And then there are those powerful moments.
Like when Gogol steps into his father's shoes and realize it's so late...
Like when he tells his girl friend I don't wanna get away from all this
Like when Moushami tells Gogol, "May be it's not enough that both of us are bengalis" ....
Like when Gogol tells his mother at airport.. "I wanted to .."
Like when Ashima get to know of Ashok's death....
Like when Ashok tells Gogol, why he named him so....
Like when Gogol finds his dad's graduation gift for him ...years later....
Like when Ashok asks Ashima as he is about to go ...."Come"
Like when Moushami tells Gogol she has turned down the offer to teach in France
Like when Ashima calls Gogol on his birthday and can't find him......
Like when Ashok tells newly wed Ashima....."It's amerika"
Like when Ashima tells her friend that now she knows why Ashok went to Cleveland
Like when Ashok makes his final call to Ashima and then walk back........

And there are many more....so go find them yourself.
Do watch it !!!

-sid

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Song Recommendation:

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This beautigul song from yahudi , remixed and rendered beautifully by susheela raman in The Namesake is playing on my system for last few hours continuously, so what better to recommend.

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ये मेरा दीवानापन हैं, या मोहब्बत का सुरूर ...

तू ना पहचाने तो हैं ये, तेरी नज़रों का कसूर !!

दिल को तेरी ही तमन्ना, दिल को हैं तुझसे ही प्यार...

चाहे तू आये ना आये , हम करेंगे इंतज़ार !!

ऐसे वीराने मे एक दिन, घुट के मर जायेंगे हम

जितना जीं चाहे पुकारो, फिर नहीं आएंगे हम !!!