MIRA NAIR FINDS A STORY THAT HITS HOME
A major international bestseller and chosen by The New York Times, USA Today and Entertainment Weekly among many others as one of the Best Books of the Year, Jhumpa Lahiri's novel The Namesake transports readers deep into the lives of an unforgettable immigrant American family. Having grown up in Rhode Island as an Indian-American herself, Lahiri wrote from the heart about a subject she knows from the inside out. As with her Pulitzer Prize-winning collection of short stories, The Interpreter of Maladies, Lahiri's debut novel was celebrated for illuminating themes of identity, belonging, becoming an American, as well as death, marriage and family love, that struck a chord with people from all backgrounds and all around the world. Most of all, The Namesake was lauded as a moving portrait of how one generation's sacrifices lead to the triumphs and opportunities of the next.
"Gabriel Byrne had raved to me about the novel The Namesake while I was dubbing for VANITY FAIR, which was a remarkable coincidence since I was already reading the novel at the time," says Nair. She was struck speechless by the novel- in part because the story seemed to so closely reflect her own experience. "Here was the story of a young girl who traveled from Calcutta and wound up in New York City, which is almost precisely the same road I traveled," notes the director. "I thought it was a deeply human story about the millions of us in America who have left one home for another and learned what it truly means to combine the old with the new."
Nair's films have often crossed cultures. She burst into the filmmaking world with SALAAM BOMBAY!, an extraordinarily powerful tale of street children trying to survive in the slums of Bombay. She then radically switched gears and headed to the southern United States to direct the indie romantic comedy MISSISSIPI MASALA, starring Denzel Washington and Sarita Choudhoury. Since then her films have leapt from one compelling territory to the next: from the 16th Century India-set romance KAMA SUTRA to the Golden-Globe® winning HBO telefilm HYSTERICAL BLINDESS set in 1980s New Jersey; and, more recently, from the evocative tale of a cross-cultural marriage ceremony, MONSOON WEDDING, which won the Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival, to her sumptuous screen version of the classic VANITY FAIR, starring Oscar® winner Reese Witherspoon as Becky Sharp.
Having just faced the death of a loved one herself, Nair felt a profound connection with the story of Lahiri's novel. Nair explains: "I think out of all my films, THE NAMESAKE is probably the most personal. When I read Jhumpa's book it was like I had just met a person who completely understood my grief, who knew the cocoon I was in and everything I was experiencing and I told myself that I must buy the rights immediately."
Nair was also attracted to a unique chance to combine cinematic portraits of her two favorite cities on opposite sides of the globe: New York and Calcutta. "I saw an opportunity to unite these two equally exciting worlds that I know and love and have lived in all my life," she says. "I also wanted to capture visually the dizzying feeling of being an immigrant where you might physically be in one particular space yet you feel like you are someplace else in your soul."
Nair's long-time producing partner, Lydia Dean Pilcher felt right away that The Namesake was a perfect match for the director's next project. "It was obviously a piece that really spoke to Mira, very deeply and in a personal way," says Pilcher. "This was clear even in the urgency she felt to make this project happen right away. It was great material for her, because Mira has such a rare ability to take a very specific story and open it up into a universal story that everyone can relate to and take something from."
To begin, Nair interviewed Jhumpa Lahiri at length, and even visited her family members to get a keener and more intimate sense of the characters, their background and the pressures they feel as they attempt to maneuver through two different worlds. Lahiri found herself won over by Nair's approach. "I don't think I would have been interested in making the movie if it were for any other director," she states. "But I have so much admiration for Mira and the journey she's made as a filmmaker in this country, bringing out the Indian experience in such a fresh and innovative way - I really see her as a pioneer. She's so passionate that she swept me and my entire family along in this film!"
In approaching THE NAMESAKE, Nair wanted to be as faithful to Lahiri's story as a screenplay structure would allow. Her only major change to the characters was giving Ashima the background of a singer so that she could integrate the beauty and emotion of the Indian music she loves so much into the story. Nair next brought in her long-time friend and collaborator, screenwriter Sooni Taraporevala, with whom she had studied at Harvard and previously collaborated on SALAAM BOMBAY! and MISSISSIPI MASALA, to tackle the adaptation.
Taraporevela had her work cut out for her, but found ingenious ways to turn Lahiri's subtle prose into imagery and drama. "Sooni and I exchanged a lot of notes back and forth," explains Nair of their process. "For me, it is absolutely essential that any film I make has both tears and laughter so we used every opportunity available to expand on the more humorous and poignant scenes in the book."
Lahiri herself was taken aback by the resulting screenplay. "I really didn't believe that my book could be translated into film," she admits. "There's so much description and summary -- but Mira and Sooni had read the book so carefully they were able to coax out the dialogue and action that is implicit. I could never have done this as the writer of the novel, but I thought what they did worked remarkably well."

A YOUNG AMERICAN. . . FROM INDIA: MEET GOGUL GANGULI
At the heart of The Namesake's story is the character of Gogol - a young American born to Bengali parents and burdened with the name of a Russian author. Gogol's character must search for an identity to hold onto inside all this cultural confusion. On the page, Gogol is rebellious, funny, smart and definitely American in his tastes and outlook, so the filmmakers set out on a search for an American actor of Indian descent who could pull off that mixture on screen. They found their match in Kal Penn, a New Jersey native who first came to the fore in such comedies as VAN WILDER and HAROLD & KUMAR GO TO WHITE CASTLE, and most recently starred with Ashton Kutcher in A LOT LIKE LOVE and in SUPERMAN RETURNS.
Coincidentally, Penn had originally been inspired to become an actor after seeing Mira Nair's MISSISSIPPI MASALA as a young kid, which allowed him for the first time to believe it was possible for a boy with an Indian face to grow up to star in movies.
Although he had yet to tackle a major leading role as intense or dramatic as Gogol, the filmmakers were immediately won over by Kal. Recalls Lydia Pilcher: "Mira had initially considered some actors out of Bombay but as we progressed in the casting process, it became clear that finding an American to play Gogol was of paramount importance. Kal became the perfect person because he not only is an amazing actor, but he also understood the character in the most deeply felt way. It seemed like destiny to find him."
Nair comments: "Kal just moved me, frankly. He was so honest and so cute and he was able to capture Gogol's angst, Gogol's awkwardness and also Gogol's distinctive coming of age. It's a role very close to Kal's heart because he also sees it as being about his family and where he comes from. There was a genuine sense right from the start that he owned the role and he took it very, very seriously."
Kal faced a particularly intricate journey as Gogol - moving from a teen playing air guitar in his bedroom to a young adult experiencing the vicissitudes of love, loss and marriage. He had read the novel even before he found out about the film and had a very emotional reaction to it. "It provoked a lot of different responses from me, from laughter to tears," he says. "I immediately knew it was something very unique."
When he found he might have the opportunity to play Gogol, the lure was irresistible. "I saw Gogol as my Holden Caulfield," Kal explains. "I felt like this was my one shot at the kind of part that would really push me as an actor. And although he's quite different from me in a lot of ways, Gogol's internal struggles to find his true identity spoke to me, very deeply and very immediately."
Kal was especially drawn to the idea of adding a whole new layer to the classic American coming-of-age story - this time as seen through the eyes of a first-generation immigrant. "I consider myself to be very American but I also think stories of immigrants really define the American experience," he says. "One of the things I really like about this story is that it dispels the myth that being a young American looks a particular way or has a particular tradition. I think it brings us back to the core idea of the American experience - which are all these beautiful shared stories of people coming here from all around the world full of hope and promise."
To keep the character fresh, Kal decided not to read even a single word of Nikolai Gogol's writing so that he would be just like Gogol Ganguli - cut off from that part of his story. "I was tempted but I waited patiently until the very end of production to crack open Nikolai Gogol's stories," he notes.
As Gogol grows up, Kal also faced several physical transformations for the film - the most spectacular being the scene where he shaves his head to express both Gogol's grief and his heartfelt return to his own cultural traditions. "It's a really emotional moment in Gogol's life so we knew it wouldn't work with just a bald cap," says Kal. "That's why I decided I would really shave my head. In the end, the scene was far more emotionally challenging than physically challenging. Hair grows back but what Gogol is experiencing will stay with him forever."
Another new experience for Kal was seeing the Taj Mahal, the astounding Indian landmark where Gogol makes an important decision about his future direction. "I was apparently at the Taj Mahal as a very young child but I can't remember it so this was really my first time seeing it. To shoot a film like this at one of the great wonders of the world was mind-blowing," he says. "The magnitude of its beauty was indescribable."
Also at the heart of Gogol's journey to adulthood are two very different love affairs - first with a rich American girl, played by Jacinda Barrett, who invites Gogol into her easy-going family; and then with a sexy, intellectual, fiery Bengali portrayed by Zuleikha Robinson who complicates his life even further. This was also exciting territory for Kal Penn.
"This was a great chance to work with two remarkably talented, extremely beautiful women," Kal sums up. "It was also wonderful because Mira allowed us to really explore their two different styles of relationship in a very organic way. I felt that I was able to establish a lot of non-verbal chemistry with both Jacinda and Zuleikha, and that becomes a big part of Gogol figuring out his identity."

A BENGALI LOVE AFFAIR IN NEW YORK: THE STORY OF ASHOKE AND ASHIMA
If Gogol makes a vast transformation throughout the years, his parents Ashima and Ashoke ride the waves of an even larger journey -- from the nervous bride and groom of an arranged marriage to overwhelmed immigrants in New York City to suburban parents and finally, to a profoundly loving husband and wife facing life's biggest changes.
For Mira Nair, the love story between Ashoke and Ashima is central to the themes of THE NAMESAKE. "They have a deep yet unconventional love story," says the director. "They are complete strangers when they wed and then we watch as they fall in love slowly over the years. It is a love that is not about saying 'I love you' dozens of times a day or sending out Hallmark cards, but it's captured in how they look at each other. It's a love that might be cloaked in propriety but underneath it is as boiling and passionate and full of humor and whimsy as any young love affair today."
To play Ashima, Nair cast one of India's most beloved and versatile actresses, Tabu, who has starred in over 70 feature films and is adored in Bollywood, yet here makes her Hollywood debut. "Tabu is in my view one of India's greatest actresses and also a consistently brave performer," Nair says. "She is one of the few actresses I can think of who could transform into an enchanting, blithe, mischievous 23 year-old girl who is about to discover her life - and then to carry that all the way through to the gravitas and dignity of a 48 year-old woman who has experienced birth, death and everything in between."
Novelist Jhumpa Lahiri was especially gratified by Tabu's evocation of Ashima. "Tabu found just the right mixture of revealing Ashima as someone who is quite vulnerable and lost and pained by everything she's experiencing, yet is also resilient and strong and a true survivor," she says.
Kal Penn was also moved by Tabu's performance as his character's devoted mother. "What was really amazing to me is that Tabu's actually so youthful in real life and yet when she plays my middle-aged mother, I could really feel this tremendous presence of maturity and life experience coming from her. She was able to turn instantly into this beautiful mother figure. It was always remarkable watching her work."
For Tabu, the initial lure of THE NAMESAKE was simply the chance to work with Mira Nair for the first time. "I've always wanted to do something with her," says the actress, "so I was really happy when she approached me for the role of Ashima. I had already read the book and knew it would be a wonderful experience because the character is so important to the story and goes through such a wide range of emotions and experiences."
Although Ashima winds up leaving India behind and living as an American suburbanite - a different path than her own -- Tabu could easily relate to her. "She is so truly Indian at heart that I really identified with her," she explains. "I'm not an immigrant but I've always wondered how people make these incredible transitions and departures, moving to a new country where everything is so different - where family, marriage, all the institutions have different rules. You have to create an entirely different reality for yourself, which is a very difficult thing to do and quite interesting to imagine. Ashima is a very Indian woman but she must find a way to create a family in the United States without losing herself."
Tabu was also drawn to the film's universal elements. "On the one hand, THE NAMESAKE is a film about America, but it's also about a subject that touches everyone: family. It's about all the people from so many different countries who have made America their home while still trying to carry their cultures and pass them down to the next generations. I think that's a very unique and beautiful experience that interests us all."
As an actress, she especially enjoyed the deep relationship Ashima develops with her husband Ashoke, played by another leading Bollywood star, Khan, with whom Tabu previously starred in India. "Our last film, MAQBOOL, was very dark and complex and so I was thrilled for us to have a chance to come together in THE NAMESAKE as a very decent and loving couple," she says. "Irrfan and I had such a happy relationship on the set that I think it really comes across in the work."
Perhaps the biggest challenge for Tabu was the significant aging process Ashima goes through as the story progresses - with the actress winding up far older than she is in real life. "The aging process was very demanding," she admits. "The first few times I was made up as a 50 year-old, I didn't even want to open my eyes! But then I became used to it and now that I know what I might look like later in life, I don't think I'll be as scared of it. And what was even more interesting to me is that Ashima comes to a place where she can look back at the good times and the sad times - a place where she can see where she has been, where she is now and where she wants to go in such a beautiful and strong way."
Mira Nair was awed by watching Tabu traverse Ashima's changes."The really remarkable thing about her performance is that it completely lacks vanity," observes the director. "It's never about showing off. Everything comes from within and there isn't a single false move that comes from her."
Next, as Ashima's dedicated husband Ashoke, Nair cast lauded Indian star Khan, whom she had originally discovered when she cast him for a small role in SALAAM BOMBAY! years ago. Since then, has risen to international acclaim, most recently for his stirring role in the award-winning epic "The Warrior."
The role of Ashoke demanded an unusual subtlety of emotion, which Khan seemed to have mastered. "Irrfan brought a very unusual and very special contemplative quality to Ashoke," notes Lydia Pilcher. "You get a strong sense of a man who is a survivor of a disaster and thus really understands that you must live each and every day as a precious gift."
Adds Nair: "He is a great, great actor and more than that he and Tabu had extraordinary chemistry together. I think one of the most remarkable features of their performances is that you really feel the depth of their love growing in every scene and they capture these very internalized, restrained emotions of the characters so beautifully."
Bringing a quiet power to such an introspective and taciturn man was an intriguing proposition to Khan. "Ashoke is someone who doesn't really talk about his feelings," Khan observes. "He keeps everything to himself and his surface is always very calm even though there's so much more going on within him. So that was the big challenge - allowing the audience to see what's going on inside Ashoke simply through his presence. I always felt that this was the kind of character who grows on you over the course of the film."
Before production began, Khan had never been to New York so he himself was experiencing a bracing culture shock once on the set. "I became fascinated by America," Khan admits. "It's a fantastic country where so much is happening and there are so many things out there to inspire you. This experience really helped me to get inside Ashoke's attraction to New York and the American way of life, despite his sense of loneliness."
A special inspiration to Khan was working with Kal Penn as his son. "Kal is a fabulous actor who works with his instincts and that's what I loved about him - he's very spontaneous so it was a constant surprise working with him," he says. As production progressed, even found himself getting emotional over his on-screen son's coming of age.
"Kal takes this character through such a rich journey, into this tremendous rage that Gogol has and through that into reconciliation with Ashoke," he observes. "For me, his journey was very moving."

TWO LOVERS FROM DIFERENT WORLDS: MAXINE AND MOUSHIMI
As Gogol Ganguli becomes a young man, he also falls in love - first with the sunny, wealthy, easy-going Maxine, who invites him to become a part of her quintessentially blue blood American family and then with Moushimi, a once-nerdy family acquaintance who turns into a brilliant, ravishing, Bengali beauty.
To play Maxine, the filmmakers searched for an actress who could emanate All-American charm and found that in Jacinda Barrett. Born in Australia, Barrett has quickly become a major Hollywood star, appearing in THE HUMAN STAIN with Anthony Hopkins and Nicole Kidman, in BRIDGET JONES: THE EDGE OF REASON with Renee Zellwegger, in LADDER 49 with Joaquin Phoenix and most recently, in Wolfgang Peterson's POSEIDON.
Already a fan of Jhumpa Lahiri and Mira Nair, Jacinda was thrilled to be cast as Maxine. "I was head over heels," she says. "I really loved the story because it has so many different colors and characters and experiences that make it unique."
Jacinda immediately felt sympathy for Maxine, who enters Gogol's life at a time when he's attempting to forge his own identity by completely running away from his own family and his own culture - and finds a refuge in hers. "Maxine is your typical Upper East Side Bohemian artist and I think she really loves Gogol," Jacinda observes. "But they both make big mistakes in the relationship. Gogol never lets Maxine into his real world and Maxine allows him to surrender himself and become a part of her family without becoming a part of his."
She continues: "I think that what happens between Gogol and Maxine is something that everyone can relate to. Everyone knows that period of time when you are growing up and suddenly you start to feel closer to your parents even as you are moving away from them. It's a very powerful time in everyone's life. And that's what really moved me about this story: it's all about working out who you are and where you belong."
Having already starred on the screen with a number of today's leading actors, Jacinda found her collaboration with Kal Penn exciting and refreshing. "He has a really unique, peaceful presence about him," she notes. "He's so easy going and brings so little baggage, it was really nice to work with him."
Playing the yang to Jacinda Barrett's yin is Zuleikha Robinson as the provocative Moushimi, who ultimately becomes Gogol's troublesome wife. Robinson, who has played such diverse roles as an Arabian princess in the epic HIDALGO and Al Pacino's daughter in THE MERCHANT OF VENICE, herself comes from a richly mixed heritage - which includes elements of Burmese, Indian, Iranian, Scottish and English backgrounds.
She found herself immediately compelled by the complex character of Moushimi. "I was drawn at first to Moushimi because she's the opposite of the characters I usually play, who have generally been much more innocent and unassuming. Moushimi is very strong, very confident, very out there with her desires and ambitions. She can be quite manipulative and is in all ways a very complicated woman," Zuleikha comments. "I also could identify with her life story. She has Indian roots, was born in London and came to New York -- all just like me."
Zuleikha also understood why Gogol would find Moushimi so irresistible. "She was this kind of unattractive kid who couldn't fit in with anyone but then she grew up, went to Paris, had lots of affairs and developed a real sense of herself. She sort of takes Gogol by storm, I think. And they're also drawn together because they both share the same experience. They both are Bengali but have grown up in America or London and, for the first time, after being with people outside their own culture, they are able to say, 'I really understand this person in front of me, I get where they're coming from.'"
Yet despite all they share in common, Zuleikha and Gogol have an explosive relationship. "That is part of the beauty of Jhumpa's novel," sums up Mira Nair. "None of the characters are reductive. Just because Maxine is a privileged Upper East-sider doesn't mean that she is shallow or myopic about other cultures and just because Mousihimi is a Bengali-American who went to NYU and studied French literature and comes from the same background as Gogol doesn't mean they'll be happily married forever. Love is more complicated than that."

A TALE OF TWO CITIES: THE NEW YORK AND CALCUTTA OF THE NAMESAKE

THE MUSIC

THE DIRECTOR AND WRITERS

A CONVERSATION WITH THE NAMESAKE AUTHOR JHUMPA LAHIRI


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