I know you ran into opposition and difficulties when the film was finished, but during the creative process early on, when you’d discuss the project with people did you get comments like “Why bring this up now?   Drop it.” and if so, was that a common reaction, or the exception? It was definitely a […]

Here’s a piece I did for this month’s issue of Khabar magazine, an interview with Kal Penn.

  As The Namesake releases in NY and LA today,  here is the second  part of an interview with Mira Nair, conducted the day after the Academy Awards, last week: Q: You mentioned the things you liked, immigrants you see in the book,  what you don’t see in the book.   Can you talk about […]

Q:   You had several other projects when you read The Namesake and you’ve said the project took on an urgency, was it that emotional thing that made it take off? MN:   Entirely.   I wasn’t looking for a film.   I was booked to do two films, one of which was already financed […]

Warning:   Plot details and spoilers ahead. Q: About shaving your head, how did you prepare for that scene? KP:   That scene was very important for Gogol because, up until his father’s death, the past few years of his life he’s distanced himself from his family because he’s gotten caught up in his college […]

  Continuing with  Namesake week, here is  the first part of an interview done with Kal Penn last week,  just after the Academy Awards.   Q: The name plays a lot of importance in the film, and you’ve changed your name.   In the movie’s credits, you appear twice (Kal Penn as Gogol, Kalpen Modi […]