Movie-NameSake: A story about a father, a son and a Name

Sometimes, there are few movies that you often regret watching late. Perhaps Namesake is one of those movies, which encapsulates you with its simplicity, baffles you with the evolution of human emotions, and teaches you a lesson that no matter how much parents do for their child, its not enough. Its not enough that a father pushes his own desires in a furnace for the betterment of its child, a mother learns to live in a lonely city so that there are ample opportunities for its child, and parents who accept the norm of American parenting and acquiesced the separation from their children.

One of the most beautiful narrative in the story is that of legendary Irrfan whose character arc beautifully transitions from a self consumed and conscious young boy to a Indian American Dad who struggles everyday with the decision of his child yet never utters a word.

The story starts from the city of Kolkata and how one incident forces him to travel across seven seas and shift to the American Dream. Like every Indian settled abroad in those days, despite having settled abroad, he married an Indian girl and took her along who struggled with the American means and ends of life to the extent that she wished to run away.

Now the beauty arrives in the character transition of Irrfan and Tabu at this stage:

Irrfan before moving to America was a conscious self consumed young boy who after moving to America ( and possibly becoming a possible cynosure of his surrounding in native is confident and boastful of American dream and lifestyle and habits. While Tabu, before flying to America has a girl next door vibe who is excited about getting married to a NRI and has hopes aspiration and admiration for future that comes across. But after moving to America, is disappointed, scared and lonely in that life. She was physically in America but her heart still used to meander in the narrows of Kolkata.

Both young couple try to make amends and settle and understand each other. Now the third character arc develops which is of young parents. Irrfan, like any parent, is happiest man on the earth at the event of birth of his son and calls it his second miracle in life. (First one, shall be worth to know in movie :P) and names his son Gogol after a famous Russian writer.

The third and second most heart wrenching transition was that of parents teens who are quite hurt as the two generations fail to understand each other, his son keep questioning his decision of naming him Gogol as he feels very embarrassed around his American friends, while Irrfan fails to make his son understand the sanctity of this name in his own life to his son. What I absolutely love about Irrfan and Tabu in this third transition were the eyes of Irrfan which seeked to say a lot but couldn’t say anything, while a doting helpless mother i.e. Tabu who tried to make peace, wanted to set his children but couldn’t do anything. They both made this movie come alive in the eyes of the viewer.

The last transition was that of parents of young adults who don’t seem to care less for their ageing parents, somewhere ashamed of their Indianess as well. While Irrfan seems to be hurt with his son’s decision of marrying a foreign girl, he attempted a final time to make him understand the importance of his name in his own life as well, while at the same time making his wife self sufficient in time of loneliness. Perhaps he was a doting father and husband in every sense.

The film makes you understand every nuance of evolution in the life of an Indian Individual and how toxic parenthood can be sometimes.
Loved it in every sense!!!