Kal Penn, known for his roles in House and the Harold & Kumar series, was recently in Mumbai in the first week of April. “I was hosting a gala this time, but I stayed on for a few days for meetings, see some family, and because I love Mumbai so much. So as much as I can stay, I always like to,” he says.
For an exclusive shoot with Bombay Times, Penn takes a stroll along the iconic Juhu beach, eats Pani Puri and even relishes a nariyal pani. "I will have to warn my mum that the pani puri was just for the pictures," he quips.
During his stroll, he shares his ambitions to deepen his connection with the Indian entertainment industry - which comprises of securing local representation and pursuing OCI (Overseas Citizenship of India) status.
Read the excerpts as followed...
' I would love to do a Bollywood film'
Mumbai isn't a new city for Penn; in fact, it's a place where he's spent his summer vacations as a kid, zipping between Dadar and Juhu. This familiarity might explain why he's particularly impressed by the city's latest infrastructure - the coastal road bridge, which has slashed travel time between the suburbs and South Bombay. "The coastal road is actually amazing. The fact that you can get to South Bombay that much quicker is amazing. I live in New York, so I'm no stranger to congestion, traffic, construction, et cetera. But every time I come here, I feel like there's more and more infrastructure that has been built,” he shares. He adds, "I just always love coming and working in Mumbai. With so many of the OTT shows and there's just so much diversity of content here and I'd love to come back to work. I would love to do a huge Bollywood film or an OTT show."
' I have not been offered a Hindi film yet'
Penn doesn't mince his words stating that he wants to do a Hindi film. And his choices are as quintessential as it can be for an NRI. “ Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani,” he states when asked what kind of Hindi film he would like to work in. “I don't think I've been offered a Hindi film yet. So, I feel this is an amazing time to explore that,” he adds.
' TMKOC and Saath Nibhaana Saathiya helped me with my Hindi'
As Penn talks about Hindi cinema, it is important to mention, how during his last visit to India in November last year, the actor visited the sets of popular Hindi TV show, Taarak Mehta ka Ooltah Chashmah. Penn is self admittedly a fan of the show. “So, I'm fluent in Gujarati and English. But I had to learn Hindi because I didn't grow up speaking (Hindi). And one of the ways I think a lot of people learn a language is through movies and TV. So, the two shows that I watched a lot to better my Hindi were both very watchable, very meme heavy, you can't scroll insta without seeing memes from either their show. They are Taarak Mehta ka Ooltah Chashmah and Saath Nibhaana Saathiya.”
' Back in the day, South Asian community wasn't huge in the West'
The West has seen an influx of multiple South Asian actors including Bollywood star Priyanka Chopra Jonas entering the industry. Penn who could easily be one of the early ones to make a striking impact in the Hollywood entertainment industry feels great about. “Back in the day when I was starting out my career, it wasn't a huge community, but there were talented, trained Indian American actors who had gone to theater school, film school. And when I would audition for projects in the late 90s, early 2000s – even if they were specifically Indian American or specifically Indian characters – there were still white actors who would audition for those roles, and they would just put makeup on them if they got the job. So, it just makes me happy, how far we have come,” he shares.
Talking further, "Art is constantly in flux and updating. There are these super talented producers and content creators, whether it's Mindy (Kaling, creator) or Priyanka (Chopra Jonas, actor) and all the stuff that they're doing. You have people like me wanting to come and sell shows here and work here (in India). Lines and categories are blurred, both from the sake of content creators and also for audiences because I think they're able to enjoy projects that weren't offered to us 10 or 15 years ago.”
'If an audience sensibility has changed, I would want to update that to make sure an audience laughs'
Penn, who also does stand-up comedy wishes to explore that in India. However, with the ongoing censorship over standup comedy in the country, Penn isn’t dithered. “As an American actor and a comic, I just need to be mindful of my views. Somethings might be different back at home or last year, but it may be different now because laws and the sensibilities are different. Back at home, I always get this question, ‘Are you upset that you could never make a movie like Harold and Kumar today? You could never make the jokes you made 20 years ago?’ I always found them strange because why would I want to make the jokes I made 20 years ago? I've made those jokes. That's a barometer of comedy that's changed. If an audience sensibility has changed, I would want to update that to make sure an audience laughs. It is different there. As an American, my view is if I don't like something that someone's saying, and that happens often because comedy and art are always subjective, I personally, don't get worked up over it. I would just change the channel because I'm confident in my viewing habits. I would defend somebody's right to say whatever they want to say, whether I agree with it or not. That's the vibrancy of what we offer as artists. Comedy is subjective," he explains, and adds, "I'm mindful of wanting to learn the lay of the land and learn what are the benchmarks? What are the parameters? What's allowed, what's not allowed? I had a couple standup comedy friends here, who explained to me that technically, I cannot use cuss words on stage. That's not something that I would have known, as an American
' If my presence makes somebody feel less invisible, more empowered, that is wonderful'
Penn’s partner Josh (his last name is not in the public domain yet) didn’t accompany the actor on his trip to the country. “He wanted to come. He's part of a friend's wedding. So couldn't make it.”
Penn came out earlier in 2021 and admits “people have been very kind” to his coming out. “Everybody figures themselves out at different times. There's no timeline for it. There are some people who figure themselves out at seven, and for other people, I have heard stories and interacted with people who in their 70s have figured themselves out. I don't live in a vacuum. I am very well aware of how and why representation matters. If my presence makes somebody feel less invisible, more empowered, that is wonderful. I didn't necessarily have that.” Ask him if there is going to be a wedding, and Penn quickly quips, “Did my mom tell you to ask that? We've been engaged for seven years. So, we need to get it together.”
Ask Kal if there is going to be a fourth part of Harold and Kumar: “I would love to make a fourth movie. We had three movies. Thanks to all the fans. We would all love to make a fourth one. There's nothing on the books right now. We are trying to figure. I love that character so much. He's cooler than I will ever be in real life. I'd love to do it."
For an exclusive shoot with Bombay Times, Penn takes a stroll along the iconic Juhu beach, eats Pani Puri and even relishes a nariyal pani. "I will have to warn my mum that the pani puri was just for the pictures," he quips.
During his stroll, he shares his ambitions to deepen his connection with the Indian entertainment industry - which comprises of securing local representation and pursuing OCI (Overseas Citizenship of India) status.
Read the excerpts as followed...
' I would love to do a Bollywood film'
Mumbai isn't a new city for Penn; in fact, it's a place where he's spent his summer vacations as a kid, zipping between Dadar and Juhu. This familiarity might explain why he's particularly impressed by the city's latest infrastructure - the coastal road bridge, which has slashed travel time between the suburbs and South Bombay. "The coastal road is actually amazing. The fact that you can get to South Bombay that much quicker is amazing. I live in New York, so I'm no stranger to congestion, traffic, construction, et cetera. But every time I come here, I feel like there's more and more infrastructure that has been built,” he shares. He adds, "I just always love coming and working in Mumbai. With so many of the OTT shows and there's just so much diversity of content here and I'd love to come back to work. I would love to do a huge Bollywood film or an OTT show."
' I have not been offered a Hindi film yet'
Penn doesn't mince his words stating that he wants to do a Hindi film. And his choices are as quintessential as it can be for an NRI. “ Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani,” he states when asked what kind of Hindi film he would like to work in. “I don't think I've been offered a Hindi film yet. So, I feel this is an amazing time to explore that,” he adds.
' TMKOC and Saath Nibhaana Saathiya helped me with my Hindi'
As Penn talks about Hindi cinema, it is important to mention, how during his last visit to India in November last year, the actor visited the sets of popular Hindi TV show, Taarak Mehta ka Ooltah Chashmah. Penn is self admittedly a fan of the show. “So, I'm fluent in Gujarati and English. But I had to learn Hindi because I didn't grow up speaking (Hindi). And one of the ways I think a lot of people learn a language is through movies and TV. So, the two shows that I watched a lot to better my Hindi were both very watchable, very meme heavy, you can't scroll insta without seeing memes from either their show. They are Taarak Mehta ka Ooltah Chashmah and Saath Nibhaana Saathiya.”
' Back in the day, South Asian community wasn't huge in the West'
The West has seen an influx of multiple South Asian actors including Bollywood star Priyanka Chopra Jonas entering the industry. Penn who could easily be one of the early ones to make a striking impact in the Hollywood entertainment industry feels great about. “Back in the day when I was starting out my career, it wasn't a huge community, but there were talented, trained Indian American actors who had gone to theater school, film school. And when I would audition for projects in the late 90s, early 2000s – even if they were specifically Indian American or specifically Indian characters – there were still white actors who would audition for those roles, and they would just put makeup on them if they got the job. So, it just makes me happy, how far we have come,” he shares.
Talking further, "Art is constantly in flux and updating. There are these super talented producers and content creators, whether it's Mindy (Kaling, creator) or Priyanka (Chopra Jonas, actor) and all the stuff that they're doing. You have people like me wanting to come and sell shows here and work here (in India). Lines and categories are blurred, both from the sake of content creators and also for audiences because I think they're able to enjoy projects that weren't offered to us 10 or 15 years ago.”
'If an audience sensibility has changed, I would want to update that to make sure an audience laughs'
Penn, who also does stand-up comedy wishes to explore that in India. However, with the ongoing censorship over standup comedy in the country, Penn isn’t dithered. “As an American actor and a comic, I just need to be mindful of my views. Somethings might be different back at home or last year, but it may be different now because laws and the sensibilities are different. Back at home, I always get this question, ‘Are you upset that you could never make a movie like Harold and Kumar today? You could never make the jokes you made 20 years ago?’ I always found them strange because why would I want to make the jokes I made 20 years ago? I've made those jokes. That's a barometer of comedy that's changed. If an audience sensibility has changed, I would want to update that to make sure an audience laughs. It is different there. As an American, my view is if I don't like something that someone's saying, and that happens often because comedy and art are always subjective, I personally, don't get worked up over it. I would just change the channel because I'm confident in my viewing habits. I would defend somebody's right to say whatever they want to say, whether I agree with it or not. That's the vibrancy of what we offer as artists. Comedy is subjective," he explains, and adds, "I'm mindful of wanting to learn the lay of the land and learn what are the benchmarks? What are the parameters? What's allowed, what's not allowed? I had a couple standup comedy friends here, who explained to me that technically, I cannot use cuss words on stage. That's not something that I would have known, as an American
' If my presence makes somebody feel less invisible, more empowered, that is wonderful'
Penn’s partner Josh (his last name is not in the public domain yet) didn’t accompany the actor on his trip to the country. “He wanted to come. He's part of a friend's wedding. So couldn't make it.”
Penn came out earlier in 2021 and admits “people have been very kind” to his coming out. “Everybody figures themselves out at different times. There's no timeline for it. There are some people who figure themselves out at seven, and for other people, I have heard stories and interacted with people who in their 70s have figured themselves out. I don't live in a vacuum. I am very well aware of how and why representation matters. If my presence makes somebody feel less invisible, more empowered, that is wonderful. I didn't necessarily have that.” Ask him if there is going to be a wedding, and Penn quickly quips, “Did my mom tell you to ask that? We've been engaged for seven years. So, we need to get it together.”
Ask Kal if there is going to be a fourth part of Harold and Kumar: “I would love to make a fourth movie. We had three movies. Thanks to all the fans. We would all love to make a fourth one. There's nothing on the books right now. We are trying to figure. I love that character so much. He's cooler than I will ever be in real life. I'd love to do it."
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