PEOPLE MAGAZINE's LEAD REVIEW & critics choice
( 1/2 Page photo: Tabu meets Jacinda & Kal)

THE NAMESAKE (3.5 of 4 Stars)
Kal Penn, Tabu, Irrfan Khan, Jacinda Barrett, Zuleikha Robinson
by Leah Rozen

While cleaning out his recently deceased father's closest, the twentysomething son (Penn) of Indian immigrant (Khan) sees his dad's worn slippers.  The young son gingerly steps into them, as if testing whether he can fill his father's shoes.  THE NAMESAKE - a moving family drama from Indian-born director Mira Nair (MONSOON WEDDING) - is filled with many such beautifully realized moments.  Based on a novel by Pulitzer-prize winning author Jhumpa Lahiri, the film follows a couple (Indian stars Khan and Tabu) as they settle in New York after an arranged marriage back home in Calcutta.  Finding her way in the New World proves most challenging for the shy bride, who is torn between old country traditions and the challenges of modern life.  As a South Asian mother struggling to understand her American-born children, Tabu is radiant, and Penn is affecting as a suburban son who eventually reconnects with his heritage.  Along the way, NAMESAKE deftly explores what it means to belong. (PG-13)

3.5 of 4 STARS