The Namesake: Film

Characters minimized in the film: Unlike the book, the film is short and it doesn't capture all the characters that are mentioned in the book. The characters who were put to their least importance are as follows:
- Sonia (Gogol's sister): She is not so much mentioned in the book as Gogol although since she is the part of the family, the film captures all the flashbacks and sequence of how Gogol and Sonia grew up together.
- Moushumi (Gogol's ex-wife): Moushumi was a part of Gogol's life like a guest who shelters with you and makes a deep impact but soon fades away from your life. Her past life is minimized in the film whereas there is a huge part of book where it's all flashbacks about Moushumi's past, present and future.
- Maxine: Again, Maxine was one of the characters who were not emphasized yet the film gave prominence to a vital part that she held which emphasized the importance of Ashoke to Gogol.
- Ashoke and Ashima's parents: In contrast with the book, the film fails to capture the history, importance and memories of the parents and grandparents.

Characters emphasized in the film: Most films surround the main idea of the protagonist or the main character however, The Namesake took a twist and film revolves more around the parents of Gogol than himself. It does reflect on him but there is more emphasis on the parents' past life.

Narration: The narration only appears when the characters are reading or for example, when Ashima was writing a letter to India, there was a voice-over of hers in the background of the film.

Use of Music/Sound Effects: There were definitely use of classical Indian music. There were also other French music when Gogol and Moushumi were in France. The use of sounds were only for music purpose not the dramatization of intense situation.

Description of one shot using strong film terms:
- Over the shoulder shot (common to reverse shot): Used when Gogol and Ashoke were talking about Ashoke's train accident and how it led to Gogol's namesake. This is one of the most important part in the film where Gogol realizes the importance tagged to his namesake.