Ashoke Ganguli (Irrfan Khan) is on a train reading Gogol in India when it crashes. After recovering from the life-altering incident, he moves to America following his train companion's advise. In 1977, he returns to Calcutta to marry singer Ashima. Ashima is homesick when they move to his poor neighborhood in Queens, New York. They have a son Gogol and a girl Sonia. Gogol (Kal Penn) hates his name and is embarrassed by his culture. After a trip to India, he becomes comfortable with his culture, decides to study architecture and switch back to his 'good' name. He falls for Maxine Ratliff (Jacinda Barrett) from a rich white family.
The movie is expansive and beautiful. I love Ashima's journey. It's so touching and the quintessential immigrant story. The movie needs to be tighter with the drama. It doesn't have much drama to begin with. Also it needs to stay with her for the whole movie. I would rather this not be a movie about Gogol. The switch in the point of view works to some extend although Gogol's journey is very different. I guess the movie does need to follow him to get the name's origin. The time jumps don't always allow the story to flow but Ashima is always the emotional heart.
The movie is expansive and beautiful. I love Ashima's journey. It's so touching and the quintessential immigrant story. The movie needs to be tighter with the drama. It doesn't have much drama to begin with. Also it needs to stay with her for the whole movie. I would rather this not be a movie about Gogol. The switch in the point of view works to some extend although Gogol's journey is very different. I guess the movie does need to follow him to get the name's origin. The time jumps don't always allow the story to flow but Ashima is always the emotional heart.