After a mixed reception to Reese Witherspoon-starrer Vanity Fair, filmmaker Mira Nair (Mississippi Masala, Monsoon Wedding) returns to her roots with this touching, sumptuously produced effort. Namesake surveys the lives of a Bengali family from the late ’70s up through today, telling the story of an arranged marriage of Ashoke (Irfan Khan) and Ashima (Tabu) in India, their move to the U.S. and their subsequent family, which includes son Gogol (Kal Penn) and daughter Sonia (Sahira Nair). Much attention is paid to Gogol, who is at odds with his unusual name and his culture and seeks to assimilate into white America by dating a wealthy student (Jacinda Barrett) while in college, but he eventually learns to respect his background. Exceptionally acted, with Harold & Kumar’s Penn impressive in his first dramatic role, the film tackles a number of tricky subjects (respect for parents, racial and social differences, infidelity) with subtlety and grace.

Shelf Talk: Nair is a brand name for cinephiles familiar with her past work (which includes the steamy, perpetual bestseller Kama Sutra), so there’s a core audience for this title. In addition, the family drama is universal in appeal and of particular interest to the growing faction of Far East audiences. Although Namesake didn’t get onto that many screens, it did rake in an impressive $14 million and had a long run at both arthouses and multiplexes.