Plot
The Namesake depicts the struggles of Ashoke and Ashima Ganguli, first-generation immigrants from the state of West Bengal to the United States, and their American-born children Gogol and Sonia. The film takes place primarily in Kolkata, New York City, and suburbs of New York City.
The story begins as Ashoke sits on a train and encounters a man who encourages him to travel the world. Shortly after the train crashes and Ashoke is one of the few survivors. Having had his leg broken and other body parts injured, he recovers at home with his parents. Once he has recovered his parents arrange a meeting between him and a girl names Ashima. The two like each other and are soon married.
Ashok and Ashima leave Kolkata and settle in New York City. Through a series of miscues, their son's nickname, Gogol (named after Russian author Nikolai Gogol), becomes his official birth name, an event which will shape many aspects of his life. The story chronicles Gogol's cross-cultural experiences [5] and his exploration of his Bengali heritage, as the story primarily shifts between the United States and Kolkata.
Gogol eventually grows up to become a lazy, cannabis-smoking teenager who is indifferent to his cultural background. He resents many of the customs and traditions his family upholds and doesn't understand his parents. After an eight month long trip to India before starting college at Yale, Gogol starts opening up to his culture and becomes more accepting of it.
Shortly after his eighteenth birthday, much to his parents' annoyance, Gogol legally changes his name to "Nikhil", (the name he had supposedly refused to be addressed by when he was in kindergarten). In college, Gogol uses his "good name" Nikhil (later shortened to Nick). He works as an architect and dates Maxine, a white American woman from a wealthy background, who is clueless about their cultural differences. Gogol introduces her to his parents, who struggle to understand his modern, American perspectives on dating, marriage and love. They are hesitant and guarded when meeting her. Gogol gets along with Maxine's family and feels closer to them than he does his own family.
Before he goes to Ohio for a teaching apprenticeship, Ashoke tells Gogol the story of the nearly fatal train accident that he had suffered years ago back in India and how he came up with his name. Shortly after, while Gogol is on vacation with Maxine's family, Ashoke suffers a heart attack and dies in Cleveland where he had moved for work temporarily whilst Ashima stayed behind in their home. Grieving, Gogol tries to be more like what he thinks his parents want him to be and begins following cultural customs more closely. He grows distant from Maxine and eventually breaks up with her due to their cultural indifferences.
Gogol rekindles a friendship with Moushumi, the daughter of family friends. They begin dating and soon after get married. However, the marriage is short-lived as Moushumi, bored with being a wife, starts having an affair with an old boyfriend from Paris. Gogol divorces her, while Ashima blames herself for pressuring Gogol to marry a fellow Bengali. Gogol returns home to help Ashima pack the house when he finds the book (The Collected Tales and Plays by Nikolai Gogol) [6] which Ashoke had gifted him after his graduation. Searching for comfort, and accepting his new life alone, Gogol finally reads the stories written by his namesake on the train home.
As well as depicting Gogol/Nikhil's experiences, the film describes the courtship and marriage of Ashima and Ashoke, and the effect on the family from Ashoke's early death from a massive heart attack. Through experiencing his father's funeral rites on the banks of the Ganges, Gogol begins to appreciate Indian culture. Ashima's decision to move on with her life, selling the suburban family home and returning to Kolkata for part of each year, unifies and ends the story.
