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Does ‘The Namesake’ stand a chance?

From Karthik On 5 December 2007 View Comments
The Namesake

Do they stand a chance?
Image from IMDB.

With the 80th Academy Awards set to air on Feb. 24th 2008, movie makers are working hard to get in their nominations. Besides the controversial “Eklavya- The Royal Guard“, the other “Desi” movie in the running is “The Namesake”.

The team is doing it’s best to get Tabu nominated for the Best Supporting Actress category. Irrfan Khan’s nomination for the Best Supporting Role – Male in the Spirit Awards (results of which will be telecast on the 23rd of Feb ‘08) and good reviews following the DVD release have boosted the teams morale.

Speaking about the campaign, Mira Nair said

That’s because Tabu is part of a large ensemble film. But people are knocked out by the maturity of her performance, and they are stunned by her youth and beauty when they meet her. If there’s any justice in the award-getting world, she definitely stands a chance. Irrfan Khan’s nomination as the Best Supporting Actor in the Spirit Awards was a great boost. I also look forward to my writer Sooni Taraporewala being remembered at the Oscars

But she was not all optimistic

I also know what a battle it is to convince the gora public to vote for a non-gora film and our actors when they’re being inundated with millions of dollars in Oscar campaigns for the known stars there. After all, don’t forget that the Oscars were invented to celebrate Hollywood cinema, and that’s the way it will always be. Sure, some of us get through the radar but it’s essentially a crapshoot.

While I partially agree with Mira, if the water cooler talk in my office was any indication, The Namesake touched more than just brown hearts. The added bonus was the fact that she captured most of the emotions from the book, putting the phrase “Never judge a book by it’s movie” to rest, at least for a little while.

Would you bet on “The Namesake” being nominated? If so in what category?

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  • I may just be biased because my mother hated Tabu's character in the movie :-)
    She says Tabu's character reminds me her too much of her own life. If your potrayal has that kind of an effect on people, you're doing something right.
  • Runa
    I think Tabu stands the best chance of being nominated for best female actor.


    Well, while I do think Tabu deserves it,I thought Irfan Khan hada better shot at best supporting actor :not just because of Namesake but because the 'Western" audience has already seen him in "The Mighty Heart" ,last year in the "Warrior" and not the least because of the Spirit award.Wishful thinking maybe! :-) I have been an Irfan fan since the days he acted on "Banegi Apni Baat" on Z TV
  • "But people are knocked out by the maturity of her performance, and they are stunned by her youth and beauty when they meet her"


    I think that speaks volumes about Tabu's performance in the movie. I think Tabu stands the best chance of being nominated for best female actor. The thing Namesake has going for it, is that the movie was mostly in English and at no point did it look like the English language was forced on the actors.
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