Review of The Namesake (2006) by Jona K — 17 Apr 2010

"The Namesake" is a film based on a novel of the same name by Jhumpa Lahiri. It is about a Bengali immigrant couple that moved from Calcutta to New York to embrace the struggle for the American dream.

Ashoke and Ashima eventually have a baby boy. In India, it is a custom for elders to pass along names to babies. This namesake could take up to around 6 years to get. Unfortunately, the US doesn't work this way and the hospital was demanding a name immediately.

Ashoke and Ashima decide to give their son the nickname of Gogol, after Ashoke's favorite author. The backstory is that Ashoke was reading on a train when he was befriended by a person that encouraged him to pack a pillow and a blanket and see go venture through the world.

Ashoke jokingly said that that's what books are for- traveling anywhere without having to leave. That is precisely when the terrible wreck occurred and his life was changed forever. Ashoke traveled to study and live abroad.

His parents and Ashima's parents arrange a marriage between the two and they hit it off immediately and depart to America. Gogol was finally given the name of Nickel, but he refused it when he was 4 and Gogol stuck with him after that.

The name affects many events of his life, like being an outsider kid in highschool. He was picked on a lot and decided to change his name to Nickel, much to his father's underlying dismay. Nickel rejects many Bengali traditions as most rebellious first generation kids do, and only starts to accept and take those traditions in after the death of Ashoke.

This is when he really understands his journey of the namesake.