Namesake

For last few weeks I have been thinking of writing about Irfan Khan, whom I adored as an actor. I thought about all his films, which I had seen and was broadly convinced that Paan Singh Tomar was his best film as an actor.  So I went back to see this film again. This film, Paan Singh Tomar had got imprinted in my memory because of an incredibly well acted scene (filmed on a roof top) in which a local journalist (played by Brijendra Kala) goes to interview the “baghi” portrayed by Irfan Khan . Honestly speaking this scene came alive because of the stellar performances of  Irfan Khan and Brijendra Kala both put together- the restrained yet menacingly cool demeanor of Irfan Khan and the equally petrified eyes and the camouflaged fear exuded by the journalist enacted by Brijendra Kala. Then by chance I came across this video of the film called ‘The Namesake’, which I had seen about 12 years back and I suddenly realized that I still remember this film and for me this film came alive through the piercing eyes of the protagonist Ashoke Ganguly. The Namesake is a film released in 2007, directed by Mira Nair and is based on the novel written by Jhumpa Lahiri starring Irfan Khan, Tabu, Kal Penn and Sahira Nair.  It is a story of the struggle of first-generation Indian immigrants, whose entire life gets vaporized in trying to create a hyphenated identity in an unfamiliar land called America . The film explores, through the eyes of their son, Gogol, the cross-cultural conflict, which the family goes through.  Gogol, born in America, struggles to discover his identity between the culturally overloaded Calcutta and the inorganic world of New York City, where his closest link  to life is his rich American girlfriend , who is clueless about the cultural differences.

To my mind, three things make this film remarkable:

1. The story of the cross -cultural catharsis
2. The deeply nuanced and restrained performances of Irfan Khan and Tabu and
3. The sound track created by Nitin Sawhney. The music touches the right emotional chords, adding a deeper sensitivity to the story. The sound track has cross-cultural overtones- Indian Classical, Anglo-Indian and French. A New Jersey based Indian singer Mitali Banerjee Bhawmik sings the Indian classical piece.

For those who have seen this film, Ashoke Ganguly will always live in their mind space forever. The movie has such deeply layered meaning and the entire essence of the film can be seen deep down in the liquid eyes of Irfan Khan. Do watch this film if you wish to pay a tribute to Irfan Khan.