Actor, Author, and former White House Staffer Kal Penn, Known To Man Work In Both Film and Public Service, was the latest guest at express addaa Platform for Candid Conversations Hosted by the Indian Express Group. In a conversation with anant goenka, Executive Director of the Indian Express Group, Kal open up his early days in Hollywood, Revealing in a moment a moment that he style looked back on it. 2002 Teen Sex Comedy Van Wilder.
“You know, I did this movie, van wilder, one of my first films with ryan reynolds, he was fantastic,” Kal recalled. “But I played a fairly stereotypical Indian exchange student. It’s a very classic, like, early 2000s teen sex comedy, right.” Kal shared how, at the time, he was navigating a deeply limited and offten stereotypical landscape for actors of indian origin. He recounted how his agent executed him about the role, be believing it could be a major break in his career. “Like any other profession, any other job, and put yourself in the late ’90s, early 2000s in Hollywood, you need credits on your resume in order for anybody to take you will not do that for thatXt Job,”.
His Agent Emphasized the Rarity of Opportunities for South Asian Actors Back then. “She said, ‘It’s really hard if you not white or black, at that time especially, because there are very few credits you can get on your resume. Specifically written Indian or Indian American, and Those were found and far between. “” When Told the Character’s Name was Taj Mahal, He immediately hung up the phone. “She called me back. ‘ “I like, look, I can tell you without reading the script exactly what is about to be, and I don’t really have an interest in it.”
Also read | Kal penn defends priyanka chopra for choosing hot dogs over vada pav; Recalls Being Told to Cook Indian Food During Celebrity Cook Off: ‘Can’ Indian Like Other Things? ‘
Despite his hesitation, kal penn ultimately auditioned and take the role, trying to steer the character away from Crude Ethnic Caricature Where Posible. “I work with the writers and the director on trying to find that was just basically on the guy’s name or where he’s from. Identity jokes to be the most boring anyway, you know, 20 years ago and even today. “
Express adda with kal penn
Though he admits he regrets doing van wilder, kal acknowledged that film did help open doors for him. Reflecting on how one project of leads to the next, he said: “But I get this question a lot when I do these interviews with college kids: ‘on a scale of one to 10, how much do you regret?’ And I’m just like: First of all, you’er welcome. ” He Continued: “Had I not done van wilder, I would not have had had had the chance to do harold and kumar go to white castle. Auditioned People in LA, London, Toronto, Miami that I get that part, ultimately, a credit, a student. Because I had done van wilder. “
Express adda is a series of informic yet thought-prvoking conversations hosted by the Indian express group, bringing together public figures from Diverse Fields. Past guests have been included nobel Laureate Amartya Sen, external affair minister s. jaishakar, his hooliness the dalai lama, philanthropist bill gates, and delhi choice rekha gupta, amng others.