MUMBAI: Big names from Bollywood, including film stars Amitabh Bachchan and his family, Aishwarya Rai, filmmakers Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and Ashutosh Gowariker attended the premiere of Mira Nair’s The Namesake, organised by UTV on 21 March 2007.

Based on Pulitzer award winning writer Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel, the film released in India on 23 March 2007. The Namesake cast, comprising Tabu, who plays Ashima walked the red carpet with actor Irrfan Khan, followed by director Mira Nair. Also present at the premiere was UTV CEO Ronnie Screwvala.

The Namesake is the tale of the Ganguli family, whose move from Kolkata to New York evokes a lifelong balancing act to meld to a new-fangled world without forgetting the old. Though parents Ashoke and Ashima long for the family and mores that enveloped them in India, they take pride in the opportunities their sacrifices have afforded their children. Paradoxically their son Gogol is frayed between finding his own unique individuality without losing his heritage.