The Namesake
by Mira Nair
List Price:
Our Price: $14.99
You Save: $12.99 (46%)
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Buy Used: from $1.99 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD details
Canada
DVD details
Actor: Irfan Khan, Jagannath Guha, Kal Penn, Ruma Guha Thakurta, TabuDirector: Mira Nair
Brand: TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language); French (Original Language); Hindi (Original Language); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); Spanish (Dubbed)
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 122 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-11-27
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: 20th Century Fox
DVD Reviews of The Namesake
DVD Review: Charming story of intergenerational & intercultural assimilation!
Summary: 4 Stars
"The Namesake" follows the two-generation story of the Ganguli family from India. Emigrating from their Homeland to New York, the family raise two Americanized kids.
Most of the story focuses on the male child, the improbably named Gogol. With one foot in his American home and another in his Bengali heritage, the boy-turned--man comes to grips with parental and romantic relationships, navigating the cultural and age divides that often stand in the way.
Though a bit long and at times slow paced, "The Namesake" is a very good movie worth watching!
DVD Review: The Namesake
Summary: 5 Stars
Loved this movie. I loved learning about people---especially children---trying to integrate with the American culture. I loved learning about this culture and religion.DVD Review: An Inward Journey in the Outer World
Summary: 5 Stars
What's in a name?
Kal Penn gives a powerful performance in this inter-generational, cross-cultural journey that combines the interconnectedness of all things with the main character's distinct individuality as he walks a path of self-discovery and learning.
When is a name more than a name? Arguably never, or arguably always.
Either way, watching this movie is time well spent.
DVD Review: Love this movie!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I have not read the book so maybe it is better but I absolutely loved this movie. I thought Kal Penn was phenomenal and I cried as did my wife when his father explains to him what his name means. I really enjoy movies about different cultures and was really blown away by this movie. Highly recommend DVD Review: moving film on identity, culture, and fate
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a beautiful film. The central character is a boy who it between cultures and struggling to make a way for himself on his own terms. This is a universal phenomenon in the US, one that as a half-chinese I have encountered my entire life: you want to be independent, but are drawn by love and the deepest personal associations to a fading ideal/circumstance. I deeply identified with the protagonist's ambivalence towards his parents, his regrets and attempts to bring himself closer to his roots, and his finding a center with a completely personal meaning, which has much to do with his name(s). The characters are very well drawn, from his immediate family to his involvements with whites and indians.
Warmly recommended.
Description of The Namesake
Adapted by screenwriter Sooni Taraporevala from the novel by Jhumpa Lahiri, director Mira Nair's The Nameksake is populated by well-drawn characters and filled with memorable shots and engaging scenes. But in the larger sense, the film is a provocative look at the two sides of immigration: the adjustments faced by a couple who move here from a distant land, and the struggles of their offspring to reconcile their parents' traditional culture with their own distinctly American outlook. The tale begins in the late '70s, when aspiring engineer Ashoke Ganguli (Irfan Khan) and his new wife Ashima (the radiant Tabu) move to New York from Calcutta. Life in America is strange, in ways both good (the gas in their apartment stays on 24 hours a day! You can drink water straight from the tap!) and not-so-hot (New York's winters). But for their children, first son Gogol (a standout performance by Kal Penn, heretofore best known for the stoner comedy Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle), nicknamed for his father's favorite author, the Russian novelist Nikolai Gogol, and then daughter Sonia (Sahira Nair), "the American way" is at odds with their folks' more conservative mores. Gogol (who later adopts his more formal first name, Nikhil) smokes dope, calls his parents "you guys," goes to Yale, and hooks up with a preppie white girl (Jacinda Barrett); for her part, Sonia complains that she wants to "go home" when the family returns to India for a visit. Only when tragedy strikes suddenly does the young man realize how totally alienated from his family he has become, prompting some major changes. There's nothing especially original about any of this, and even those who haven't read the book may sense that some of Lahiri's material has been lost on the way to the screen (the treatment of Gogol's marriage to a beautiful Bengali-American girl, played by Zuleikha Robinson, seems oddly truncated). But even while dealing with life's Big Issues (birth and death, marriage and separation, joy and misery), Nair has created a winning, intimate film that reminds us of the strength of family ties and effortlessly persuades us to care. --Sam GrahamKal Penn Blogs About The Namesake
Welcome to The Namesake DVD. After touring the festival circuit last year, our film opened globally (including North America) in March of this year, and I'm proud to bring you the DVD!
This is a project that has been close to me from the beginning. I was a big fan of the book ever since John Cho recommended it to me during the first Harold & Kumar shoot. John and I tried to get rights to turn the book into the film, but Mira [Nair, director of Monsoon Wedding and Salaam Bombay] had already acquired them. That began a really aggressive campaign on my part to try to get seen for the role. I'd call Mira's office, have my manager call - but we had no luck in getting in the door. Luckily, unbeknownst to me, Mira's son Zohran and her agent's son Sam were lobbying on my behalf (turns out they are huge Harold and Kumar fans, so they were trying to get their parents to bring me in to read for the part of Gogol). Mira finally agreed, and I got a call saying that I'd be able to audition. I flew out to New York, and luckily things worked out.
There are some similarities between my life and Gogol's. We are both Americans of Indian descent, both born and raised on the East Coast, both bilingual, and both passionate about our careers. But Gogol is much more subdued than I am; he carries a certain silence (which he gets from his father). His place in the world is one of constant shift -- a byproduct of being single in New York, being passionate about his job, close with his family, and so on.
This film is my favorite to -date. Mira has been a role model of mine since I was very young, Jhumpa [Lahiri, author of The Namesake] is one of my favorite authors, Sooni [Taraporevala, screenwriter for Salaam Bombay] one of my most admired screenwriters, so it's an honor to have the chance to be part of the screen adaptation of this story.
To me, it's a very American film. It's about family, about hope - about how we all got here, through the lens of this particular family. With so much negativity every time I turn on the television, I'm proud to be part of something that hopefully leaves the audience with a tremendous amount of hope, and a connection to the people we love. -- Kal Penn
American-born Gogol the son of Indian immigrants wants to fit in among his fellow New Yorkers despite his family's unwillingness to let go of their traditional ways. System Requirements:Running Time: 114 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA/AMERICANS ABROAD Rating: PG-13 UPC: 024543456087 Manufacturer No: 2245608
General DVDs
- Action & Adventure
- African American Cinema
- Animation
- Anime & Manga
- Art House & International
- Classics
- Comedy
- Cult Movies
- Documentary
- Drama
- Educational
- Fitness & Yoga
- Gay & Lesbian
- Horror
- Kids & Family
- Military & War
- Music Video & Concerts
- Musicals & Performing Arts
- Mystery & Suspense
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Special Interests
- Sports
- Television
- Westerns
Bones - The Complete First SeasonTWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 2006-11-28; DVD
Best price: $25.90
Price in other shops:
P.S. I Love YouWarner Brothers; Release date: 2008-05-06; DVD
Best price: $12.00
Price in other shops:
Grey's Anatomy: The Complete Fourth SeasonBuena Vista Home Video; Release date: 2008-09-09; DVD
Best price: $38.99
Price in other shops:
The Other Boleyn GirlSony; Release date: 2008-06-10; DVD
Best price: $10.00
Price in other shops:
The Wire - The Complete Fifth SeasonWarner Brothers; Release date: 2008-08-12; DVD
Best price: $38.99
Price in other shops:
Bones - The Complete Second SeasonTWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 2007-09-11; DVD
Best price: $24.00
Price in other shops:
Dexter - The Complete Second SeasonPARAMOUNT PICTURES; Release date: 2008-08-19; DVD
Best price: $25.99
Price in other shops:
House, M.D. - Season FourRelease date: 2008-08-19; DVD
Best price: $38.99
Price in other shops:
Mad Men - Season OneLION'S GATE ENTERTAINMENT; Release date: 2008-07-01; DVD
Best price: $29.93
Price in other shops:
John Adams (HBO Miniseries)Warner Brothers; Release date: 2008-06-10; DVD
Best price: $32.91
Price in other shops:
Eastern Promises (Widescreen Edition)UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOME ENTERTAIN.; Release date: 2007-12-23; DVD
Best price: $9.99
Price in other shops:
In the Valley of ElahWarner Brothers; Release date: 2008-02-19; DVD
Best price: $8.55
Price in other shops:
The Darjeeling LimitedTWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 2008-02-26; DVD
Best price: $14.48
Price in other shops:
A Mighty HeartNCircle Entertainment; Release date: 2007-10-16; DVD
Best price: $4.32
Price in other shops:
The SavagesTWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 2008-04-22; DVD
Best price: $12.29
Price in other shops:
Away from HerLION'S GATE ENTERTAINMENT; Release date: 2007-09-11; DVD
Best price: $6.90
Price in other shops:
Monsoon WeddingUniversal Music Group; Release date: 2002-09-24; DVD
Best price: $4.19
Price in other shops:
The Kite RunnerPARAMOUNT PICTURES; Release date: 2008-03-25; DVD
Best price: $10.57
Price in other shops:
OnceTWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 2007-12-18; DVD
Best price: $14.90
Price in other shops:
Waitress (Widescreen Edition)TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 2007-11-27; DVD
Best price: $11.95
Price in other shops: