Trivia / The Namesake

• Dawson Casting:
  • Kal Penn is Gogol/Nikhil in high school and throughout his life. Kal Penn in in his thirties and is in fact only 7 years younger than Tabu, the actress who plays Ashima, Gogol/Nikhil's mother.
  • Tabu herself, who was 37 when cast as the 20 year old Ashima, though this is later justified as she continues to play Ashima as the character ages.
• Fake Nationality: Zuleikha Robinson, a Briton with Indian, Burmese, English, Scottish and Iranian ancestry plays an Indian-American, Moushimi.