REEL FANS:’Namesake’ nails culture

Daily Pilot Staffer Sue Thoensen went to Edwards University Town Center 6 to get moviegoers’ opinions of “The Namesake,” starring Kal Penn, Tabu, Irfan Khan and Jagannath Guha.

Ashoke (Irfan Khan) and Ashima (Tabu) Ganguli move to America from Calcutta after their arranged marriage.

When their American-born children — son, Gogol (Kal Penn) and daughter Gosh(Jagannath Guha) — reject their Indian heritage for the more modern way of life in America, family tensions build.

“I thought the movie was really, really good. I was impressed with the [parents’] traditions, and then what happened to the children being American-born — the influence that had on them. I felt really sad that the children sort of dismissed the parents at some stage. It seemed that tradition went out the door for them, but I thought that was resolved at the end with the son looking for his roots.”

Grade: A

Wanda Broederlow

Tustin

“I thought the movie was great, because it was the story of family and relationships, and how they develop and change over time. I thought it showed how in spite of the difference in cultures, families are the same everywhere. I also thought it was interesting that she [Ashima] retained her culture in spite of the fact that her husband and her children did not. But I thought that the development of the culture back to the children was interesting.”

Grade: A

Janice Fairbanks

Orange

“I loved the movie. It was very touching, and I liked the family part of it. And that it was about keeping your roots, even though maybe you’re in a new place. Being a teacher, I’m always trying to get the kids to honor where they’re from, and not lose their culture and their language, and also be American. I thought the acting was wonderful, and I particularly liked the actor who played the father.”

Grade: A

Jennifer Knox

Garden Grove

“I really loved the movie. It touched close to home, being an immigrant myself, and [it showed] so many of the experiences immigrants really go through. I have three children — one born in India, the other two born here — so I could relate. I know what my kids went through in school, sort of growing up in two cultures. I thought the acting was wonderful, particularly the father and mother. The dichotomy of an immigrant’s life here [is that] there really aren’t any definite answers — [it’s] the way life is — sometimes things come together well, and sometimes they don’t, and that’s just something they learn to live with.”

Grade: A

Meena Iyer

Irvine

“I could relate to the movie, and thought it was very well done. The actors truly represented what the culture was for that era — people who came from India back in the ‘70s — the way they lived, the immigrant story. I myself came in the late ‘60s, so I enjoyed the movie. I have raised three boys, and they want to be a part of the mainstream. We made a conscious decision to be part of this culture when we came here, and they have to do what other kids do in this country. I think it’s pretty natural. Forcing them to marry people from their own culture would really be imposing on them, I think.”

Grade: A+

Peter Iyer

Irvine