March 29, 2005 - Filming has begun on the Fox Searchlight movie, The Namesake, starring Kal Penn and directed by Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding).
In a press release issued by Fox Searchlight, director Nair talked about her most personal project to date. "The Namesake encompasses in a deep humane way the tale of millions of us who have left one home for another, who have known what it means to combine the old ways with the new world, who have left the shadow of our parents to find ourselves for the first time."

The Namesake was adapted for the screen by Sooni Taraporevala from the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Jhumpa Lahiri. Nair and Lydia Dean Pilcher are producing the film with Taka Ichise and Ronnie Screwvala executive producing.

The Namesake - The Official Synopsis

The story of the Ganguli family whose move from Calcutta to New York evokes a lifelong balancing act to meld to a new world without forgetting the old. Though parents Ashoke and Ashima (Irfan Khan, Tabu) long for the family and culture that enveloped them in India, they take great pride in the opportunities their sacrifices have afforded their children. Paradoxically, their son Gogol (Kal Penn) is torn between finding his own unique identity without losing his heritage. Even Gogol's name represents the family's journey into the unknown.

Source: Fox Searchlight Pictures