I saw The Namesake yesterday and I enjoyed it. One of the reasons I liked it was that I could relate to a lot of what happened in the movie. Many of the things that Gogol goes through are things that all South Asians go through when growing up in America. Kal Penn did a great job portraying the main character. It was much more of a serious role than what he’s done before.
One of the only things I didn’t like about the movie was that the guy was going out with a white girl. I’d say that’s one of the biggest stereotypes about Asian guys that grow up in America. Many people automatically assume that if you’re brown and you live in America, you will, at one point, have a relationship with a white girl. I’m glad they didn’t make the Bengali girl seem like the perfect match for the guy.
The movie also showed the struggle immigrant parents go through in America. It made me see how it was for my parents when they first moved here. I, too, moved out of an old apartment and into a house when I was around the same age as Gogol in the movie.
The Namesake is definitely not one of those crappy Bollywood movies. It has a lot of meaning to it and is very enjoyable.