Harold and Kumar actor Kal Penn says he learnt Hindi by watching Saath Nibhaana Saathiya: ‘It is super addictive with ridiculous plot lines'

Indian Express

2 days ago

While many of us thought Gopi Bahu (from Saath Nibhaana Saathiya) had a limited reach to maybe the housewives of Indian households, we were all introduced to the show's characters when they made it to the internet. It received a whole wide recognition when Yashraj Mukhate created an interesting mix and the whole India just asked: Rasode mein kaun tha! It seems that Hollywood actor Kal Penn was an early adopter to the show and it was his Hindi tutor. The actor-comedian recently appeared as a guest on Express Adda, a platform for candid conversations hosted by The Indian Express Group. During the conversation with Anant Goenka, Executive Director of The Indian Express Group, Kal Penn shared his love for Indian shows.
While comparing Indian, Korean and American shows, Kal accepted he is more versed in American shows. He confessed if given a chance he would want to appear on TMKOC and the Netflix show Delhi Crime.
He shared, 'I got to know Asit Modi a couple of years ago and I did a set visit to Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah and I was geeking out over this–it is like one of the most watched shows on the planet. It is not everybody's palate, and very different from Delhi Crime. But, you look at it what India is turning out and the spectrum of voices and content… I be like, 'this is so cool.' I want to be on both shows. I would love to do episodes of Delhi Crime.'
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When asked to choose between Smriti Irani's Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2 and forever-running Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah, Kal Penn had a very interesting answer.
He shared, 'This is hard because Hindi is not my first language. It is English and then Gujarati. But one of the ways that I started trying to learn Hindi was through episodes of Saath Nibhana Saathiya.' He explained, 'Because the level of Hindi is accessible to somebody who is learning Hindi. They have super addictive ridiculous plot lines. So I will go with Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi.'
Kal Penn, born as Kalpen Suresh Modi, is an American actor with Indian origin. He is known for his roles in Harold & Kumar, House, and brief appearance on the popular show How I Met Your Mother, among others. He is also an author and former White House staff member in the Barack Obama administration.
Meanwhile, Saath Nibhaana Saathiya, is one of the longest running shows in India with 2181 episodes. It first aired in May 2010 and ended in July 2017.