I’m sitting in a suite at the Intercontinental Hotel in Los Angeles, anxiously anticipating Kal Penn’s grand entrance. His new movie, “The Namesake,” comes out this Friday and I’m here to talk to Penn about his giant leap from a stereotypical Indian sidekick to a serious leading man. Penn opened up to me (and 10 other college journalists) about his first serious role, filming in Calcutta and how he really feels about “The Rise of Taj.”
Q: What was it like, growing up Indian-American in New Jersey? Did you face any of the stereotypes that your character Gogol faces in the movie?
A: Yeah, thanks to the genius of “The Simpsons” and “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,” it took a little bit of work to explain to people that I’m neither a cartoon character or a monkey brain eater.
Q: What was it like trying to break out of the Kumar/Taj type of character and try to get people to take you seriously?
A: It was welcome. I mean, we’re filming the “Harold and Kumar” sequel right now, so I [still] do enjoy it. But as far as breaking out of the “Taj” [and] “Epic Movie” disaster… I mean scenario, it was a welcome change.
Q: What was it like working with Mira Nair?
A: It was awesome. She was one of my role models growing up. She really inspired me to go into filmmaking, so to come full circle and get the chance to work with her was incredible.
Q: What was it like filming in Calcutta and seeing the Taj Mahal? Had you been there before?
A: I’d been there when I was five, but I didn’t remember any of it. It was intense. It’s a beautiful, beautiful building. I really enjoyed Calcutta; it’s a very clean city. They have a communist government, so their literacy rate is astronomical, their treatment of men and women is a lot less disparate than in other places. It’s a very artistic, very literate, very cultural [and] very clean city.
Q: Coming from your comedic roots, was filming a drama easier or harder?
A: It’s a different type of challenge. Even when you’re filming “Harold and Kumar,” and you’re high as a kite, there’s an odd sense of reality in the confines of something so absurd. If you don’t fully believe that reality exists, then it’s not going to exist for the audience. I think it’s the same with a drama, except in this case you have a Pulitzer-winning author’s manuscript to base it off of.
Q: How does it feel to pave the way for Indian-Americans in the entertainment industry?
A: It’d be great if the way was already paved. I hope more people enter the field. I think that Mira [the director] paved the way, so I wouldn’t credit myself at all. There are many South Asian actors who are working in New York and Chicago and L.A. I don’t think commercial success should be used to measure whether or not you’re entering a certain field.
Q: What future projects do have lined up?
A: We’re shooting the “Harold and Kumar” sequel right now, and then I’m shooting a pilot for ABC called “The Call.” It’s from the producers of “24.” It’s a single camera, half-hour comedy about two EMT’s in L.A. And then we’ll see after that. I’d like to get into producing.
Q: Is there any actress or actor you’d like to work with?
A: Yeah, Natalie Portman and… I don’t know. You know how you think about this stuff all the time, but when somebody asks you about it, you draw a blank? I don’t know. MySpace me and I’ll get back to you.” (All laugh.)
