/> The Namesake seems to have acquired a life of its own. Do you agree?
Yes, I do. Recently the dvd came out in the US over the thanksgiving weekend, a big family holiday weekend here, and The Namesake was all over TV and Radio being touted as the Great Family Classic.

I've hardly ever met a person who has seen the film only once. At least 2-3 times is the average. The film, as you know, has played for more than 4-5 months in any country, has out-performed major

American films at the box-office, has bolstered the sales of the book internationally, and despite it having opened here in March many months ahead of the Oscars and other awards season it is being remembered,Inshallah, by the voters.

The film seems to have touched a chord among audiences beyond the diaspora-driven NRI audiences who immediately associated with the theme of cultural displacement. How do you explain the film's impact beyond cultural boundaries ?
The film is universal because each one of us has left one home for another, if not a country for another. The Ganguli family's journey is our collective journey, as also the story between parents and children.

In whichever film i make, i strongly believe that if one captures the truth of the character, the truth of the worlds in the film, it speaks volumes to human beings all over.

After all, we are essentially the same. Cinema, I also believe, should transport you across different realities.And while you soar, recognize yourself and your own aspirations in the journey on screen.

Since I'm such an unabashed desi, I love to move people with characters that look, dress, sound and joke like us!

Do you feel the West is ready to accept an Indian reality beyond the Bollywood song-and-dance formula? I refer specifically to films like Namesake and Water.
Yes, yes, yes. The west, like any market, is ready to accept a well-made film that sweeps you away. however, I think the song-and-dance tamasha will always be our beloved cinema, not so much the western mainstream's cup of chai.