I saw 'the namesake' at MAMI festival, mumbai, just last night. And trust me, i still can't get over it. There is this truth in the performances of Irrfan, Tabu and Kalpen that touch you. It has its share of problems with the art direction and overseeing other 'time bound' detailing of that era. But...it is still a masterpiece...a flawed masterpiece. Its a film like this that makes me feel.."hope i can make a film like this 1 day"...
Hats off to Mira Nair!I think we shouldnt make Oscars the benchmark for any talent evaluation,in anycase it has a very biased jury.I am sure Namesake would stand on its own merit and make Indians proud whichever part of the world they are.
We drove around an hour to New York to see this movie-it surprises me that only 2 movie theatres are showing this in NY and non in New Jersey and all shows this weekend was packed and SOLD OUT. Needless to say the effort was worth its while, even though we paid around $40 to Park our Car. Being a Bengali from Calcutta, we could relate so well with the movie. Apart from a few small details which Mira Nair overlooked, example, I tought I saw Hritick Roshan's hoarding in Calcutta streets when they were showing 1977 Also, a Widowed Bengali Mother does not wear a Red Saree during her son's wedding. The movie overall was engrossing and I would give full credit to Mira Nair. Also to add to our overall experience we had Kal Penn come in after the show and expressed his openion about the movie. The crowd gave the movie a standing ovation-Point to be noted-there were quite a few Non-Desi's in the hall. Anindya Banerjee New jersey, USA
RE:Namesake-My Experience
by abhijit vohra on Mar 14, 2007 01:19 AM
I m in Dubai and the movie has nt been released here as yet.After reading your opinion on it,I m eagerly waiting for it.I hope Mira delivers the subtle brilliance of Monsoon Wedding once again. Abhijit Vohra
i am waiting for the release of the movie in india. I have not read the book so its even better as dont know abt the story. I dont think oscar is the ultimate price in movies as the selection of award winners is one of the great comedies . The award is decided mainly on lobbying
RE:waiting for india release
by NoWork AllPlay on Mar 12, 2007 01:36 PM
Anzar, tell me one film based awards where lobbying is not done. Do you think Hritik Roshan getting an acting award for a movie which is purely know for special effects and action is not surprising. The reason why an average Indian gives so much importance to Oscars is that the local awards are useless and always have to go to Yashray films. Whether or not the movie is good, his movies have to get the top wards i.e. Hritik for Dhoom 2 and Kajol for Fanaa. Kajol for fanaa while no awards for Kareena Kapoor for Omkara. They try and settle the controversies by saying that Kajol was the popular choice. While Kareena was better according to critics.... I believe that all this is bull shit and this is done purely to keep everybody in good books so that actors attend awards and dont abandon like Aamir has done.
check out the review on slate.com jhumpa's writing is usually quite nuanced - i wonder much of that can be transferred to the screen without losing out on the small poignant bits.
Lahiri's second book was a bit boring somewhere in the middle, but am guessing tht Nair's make of the film will omit that part from it. Should be worth a wait to watch this one. And for many who dont know it yet, if you Nair you should perhaps watch one of her bests : Hysterical Blindness- starring Uma Thurman! :)
RE:The Namesake
by samrat raychaudhuri on Mar 12, 2007 10:43 AM
Yes Dude! that was one great film. 'The perez family' is also very good. She worked with Marisa Tomei, Anjelica Huston and Alfred Molina there. And great work!!!I will watch the Namesake ASAP. Way to go Mira!!!!
RE:Kudos !
by Parameswaran N.S on Mar 12, 2007 01:47 PM
why the fixation on oscar. it is a sign of the 'inferiority complex' we still suffer from. we should make good films. that is all. if it gets an award good.does not get an award. no problem.
RE:Kudos !
by Devesh Kumar on Jun 14, 2007 07:56 AM
I agree with above remark about Oscar. And why should we give importance to "Oscar" as the guys who sit there as jury cant understand each & every movie in context of it's making, controversies (Political,Religious etc.), emotions {Regionally} (The movie "Mother India" didn't get the award because the juries at that time can't understand why did 'Nutan - Mother India' did't agree to marry with the 'Lala' after her husband's death?), expressions etc.
RE:RE:Kudos !
by Drashti Parekh on Mar 12, 2007 11:52 AM
I dont think Oscar is the benchmark to evaluate the movie. Movie is too much a individual choice and cant make it generic.
RE:RE:RE:Kudos !
by Sameer T on Mar 12, 2007 12:51 PM
I agree with you Drashti, Oscar is never a benchmark...the movies which won Oscar are not the greatest movies ever made...
