Watched the movie last night. Liked it. The visuals are stunning. The heroine Tabu is goodlooking. Understated acting. Some cheap tricks by Mira Nair. Overall, much better than Monsoon Wedding.
rawemotions posted Re:Watching Namesake on 6 mnths ago
I have a personal copy which I am willing to sell at half price. I already read the book.
The book told a good story.
If I remember right, the book shows Gogol's date (I think arranged date) having her own side relationships (going all the way before she dates Gogol, and he seems to reconcile to it, without any major emotions. That seemed un-realisitc to me.
Are you referring to the indian gal Gogol marries? In the movire, she talks about having a wild life in Paris on their first or second date. Gogol given the culture he grew up in, and considering he was marrying this gal to live up to his mother's wishes, had the ability and motive to reconcile to this .
The part that I found unrealistic was how quickly he gets out of the relationship with his real girl friend citing family reasons. Maybe the movie didn't have the time to develop this point.
Maria S posted Re:Watching Namesake on 6 mnths ago
Jumpa Lahiri, imo is an average writer, a decent story teller.
She starts out well...but somewhere in the middle.. they become bland and boring and the endings are kind of a let down.
*On the positive side...she does describe the "conflicts" in identity well.
However...her books lack "pep" (are mundane) and more importantly that special "inspirational quality".
I saw the movie. Didn't read the book, but I understand the book is centered more on Gogol.
The movie had some decent parts: Irfan Khan's role as the father. I liked Tabu too. One of my gripes was how the parents, esp. the mother, are shown as forever being outsiders. It was a little bit over the top in terms of the "misery" factor. Couldn't have been that bad after a couple of years.
I also didn't understand why Gogol had to cut his girl friend loose to pay attention to his family. I thought this was done for effect. Kal Penn had done a great job, capturing the complexity of Gogol's life. At one point there had been some talk of abishek bachan playing the role. Don't think that would have worked in terms of catching the american nuances the role requires.
I didn't like the characters of Gogol's girlfriend and wife. I liked Irfhan Khan character. [btw, for those wondering what I look like, I look like him :-) ]
The scene where Tabu drives ["Don't talk to me when I am driving"] was funny. My wife and I both cracked up at that.
The Kolkatta visuals are stunning. [Maybe it is my new flat screen TV :-)]
the book is better.
Going to check out the book.
The book told a good story.
If I remember right, the book shows Gogol's date (I think arranged date) having her own side relationships (going all the way before she dates Gogol, and he seems to reconcile to it, without any major emotions. That seemed un-realisitc to me.
The part that I found unrealistic was how quickly he gets out of the relationship with his real girl friend citing family reasons. Maybe the movie didn't have the time to develop this point.
She starts out well...but somewhere in the middle.. they become bland and boring and the endings are kind of a let down.
*On the positive side...she does describe the "conflicts" in identity well.
However...her books lack "pep" (are mundane) and more importantly that special "inspirational quality".
M
I saw the movie. Didn't read the book, but I understand the book is centered more on Gogol.
The movie had some decent parts: Irfan Khan's role as the father. I liked Tabu too. One of my gripes was how the parents, esp. the mother, are shown as forever being outsiders. It was a little bit over the top in terms of the "misery" factor. Couldn't have been that bad after a couple of years.
I also didn't understand why Gogol had to cut his girl friend loose to pay attention to his family. I thought this was done for effect. Kal Penn had done a great job, capturing the complexity of Gogol's life. At one point there had been some talk of abishek bachan playing the role. Don't think that would have worked in terms of catching the american nuances the role requires.
Kris
The scene where Tabu drives ["Don't talk to me when I am driving"] was funny. My wife and I both cracked up at that.
The Kolkatta visuals are stunning. [Maybe it is my new flat screen TV :-)]
http://niralimagazine.com/2007/03/21-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-namesake/
I had posted: btw, for those wondering what I look like, I look like him (Irfan Khan)
The above link says: According to DNA India, he (Irfan Khan) also enjoys his status as “the thinking women’s sex icon.”
:-)
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5469625162319438229&q=Sempoove+poove&ei=4QUKSMqzB4Wc4gL-0uG7BA
Just had the only song of the movie -
LOL! not surprised.