Kal Penn recalls he had to stop showing up on Indian film set to get his due payment: 'I'm not coming until I get paid'

Hindustan Times

a day ago

Actor Kal Penn has shared that once, while working on an Indian film, his payment was so delayed that he had to stop showing up on set to get it. Speaking with the Indian Express, Kal spoke in detail about the incident when he flew from the US to India and started working on the film "in good faith," even though the money wasn't there. He added that he was warned by fellow Bollywood actors that he might not get paid. Kal Penn talked about an unpleasant incident while working in an Indian film.
Kal Penn shares he stopped going to film's set to get his due payment
Kal shared that even though the filming was about to end, he didn't get his payment. "So with, like, three days left to go, I told everybody on set, 'I'm not coming tomorrow until I get paid.' And the crew was like, 'Yeah, finally. Good for you.' And the producers were like, 'Okay.' So that second-to-last day, there's a phone call: 'Sir, your car is ready.' And I said, 'No, actually, I'm not coming today. You can let the driver go. I haven't been paid.' Then, like ten minutes later, one of the financiers calls: 'Mr. Kalpen, koi problem hai (Is there a problem)?' I'm like, 'I just haven't been paid, so I can't come to work.' We had some strong words after that. He just goes, 'Okay, just wait in your room. In two hours' time, my boy will come.' I'm like, 'Okay',' he said.
How his move made producers pay him within a few days
He shared how he received the payment, all in cash, in "a brown paper bag" from a man. "He hands it to me and just goes, 'Count it.' I was like, 'Alright. Do you want to come in?' He goes, 'No.' So I closed the door, counted it, it was like half of what the guy owed me, in cash. The phone rings. I was like, 'Uh, actually, this is just half of what you owe me.' He goes, 'Yeah, the other half you'll receive tomorrow.' I'm like, 'Okay.' So I put the money in the safe, fully expecting it to, like, not be there when I came home from work, fully expecting somebody to steal my kidney when I got there,' he also said.
Kal added that he was four hours late to work, but the film's team was ready with the money the next day. He added that he returned to the US with the cash, declared it, and filled out forms.
About Kal's films
The actor has starred in several films over the years, such as Express: Aisle to Glory, American Desi, Van Wilder, Cosmopolitan, Dude, Where's the Party, Ball & Chain, Sueno, The Namesake, Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain, and The Ashram, among many others.