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Indian Express
01-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Mira Nair didn't want to cast Kal Penn in The Namesake, after son showed her Harold and Kumar: ‘Beta, this is clearly not the guy for us'
Actor Kal Penn was the latest guest at Express Adda, a platform for candid conversations hosted by The Indian Express Group. During the conversation with Anant Goenka, Executive Director, The Indian Express Group, Kal shared how his breakout role as Kumar in Harold & Kumar almost sabotaged his chances to be cast in Mira Nair's The Namesake. The actor shared how he was battling with stereotypical roles during his early days, and talked about the film Van Wilder, in which he played the role of Taj Mahal. Kal admitted that the Van Wilder gig actually helped him land Harold & Kumar, but the film in turn almost lost him the role of Gogol in The Namesake. He shared, 'The Namesake has been my favourite project, and Mira was a role model of mine when I was a kid. She was one of the catalyst of why I became an actor. The way I got that role, was that I wrote her a letter and I said, 'The Namesake is an incredible book, and you have to let me audition for it.' It just so happened that her 14-year-old son (Zohran Mamdani) was a fan of Harold & Kumar. He told her to cast me and actually showed her clips from the movie. She instantly said, 'Beta this is clearly not the guy for us,' but then she got my letter and said, 'What the heck, because of my son have to let him audition.'' ALSO READ: Kal Penn defends Priyanka Chopra for choosing hot dogs over vada pav, recalls being told to cook Indian food during a celebrity cook off: 'Can't Indians like other things?' Kal Penn also shared his experience of working with Irfan Khan in The Namesake and said, 'He was incredible. He had this power of communicating through silence. There is this one scene, when he comes into my room in college to give a book, and he just uses silence to show what his character is feeling. He does something similar when where are in a car and he tells Gogol the origin of his name, and in both those scenes, there is so little dialogue, but he such a beautiful and generous performer. We all miss him.' Kal admitted that while some of the roles he played, or was offered, were frustrating at the time, in hindsight, they paved the way for the work he truly wanted to do. Also Read | Kal Penn reveals regret doing teen sex comedy Van Wilder: 'I played a fairly stereotypical Indian exchange student' The Express Adda is a series of informal interactions organised by The Indian Express Group. Previous guests at the Adda include Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, philanthropist Bill Gates and Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta.
Time of India
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Zohran Mamdani's biggest victory? From pestering Mira Nair to cast Kal Penn to winning NYC's mayoral primary
(L-R) Zohran Kwame Mamdani with his parents Director Mira Nair, and Mahmood Mamdani (PTI Photo) In a sweeping upset, Indian-American lawmaker Zohran Kwame Mamdani has won the Democratic primary for New York City Mayor, defeating political heavyweight and former governor Andrew Cuomo. But long before Mamdani was hailed as a rising political star with Bernie Sanders in his corner and a grassroots campaign that shook the establishment, he was just a teenager begging his mother, acclaimed filmmaker Mira Nair , for a favor, to meet Kal Penn . When The Namesake found its Gogol The year was 2005. Mira Nair had just acquired the rights to Jhumpa Lahiri's The Namesake. Kal Penn, born Kalpen Suresh Modi, best known at the time for stoner comedy Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle, was desperate to audition. He wanted to land the role of Gogol Ganguli, a character whose struggles mirrored his own, born to Indian immigrant parents, bilingual, and navigating identity in America. But it wasn't just the character he related to. Penn actively chased the project, even trying to acquire the rights to the novel before learning Mira Nair already had them. A son, a phone, and some persistence But it wasn't Hollywood agents or industry insiders who opened the door. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Ductless Air Conditioners Are Selling Like Crazy [See Why] Keep Cool Click Here Undo It was Zohran Mamdani, a teen with a plan and a phone. 'I started calling her office nonstop,' Kal Penn once recalled. 'Eventually Mira gave in, apparently because her son Zohran and his friend Sam were obsessed with Harold & Kumar,' Penn later admitted in an interview. The rest, as they say, is history. Penn landed the lead role of Gogol Ganguli, and The Namesake went on to become one of the most defining South Asian diaspora films in Hollywood. From fanboy to front-runner Now, two decades later, Zohran Mamdani has gone from film-nerd teen to the Democratic nominee for New York City Mayor. That early influence shaped Zohran's sense of conviction, a quality that has defined his political career. A childhood shaped by culture and conviction Born in Kampala, Uganda in 1991, Mamdani moved to New York at age 7 with his mother, Mira Nair, and father Mahmood Mamdani, a noted Ugandan academic of Indian origin. As a State Assemblyman from Queens and democratic socialist, Mamdani led hunger strikes with taxi drivers to secure $450 million in debt relief, fought for $100 million in subway funding, and launched a fare-free bus pilot. His mayoral campaign promises include a rent freeze for stabilized tenants, universal childcare for kids aged six weeks to five years, and a network of city-owned grocery stores focused on affordability. 'The cost of living is crushing working people,' his campaign site says. 'Zohran believes government can lower costs and make life easier.' His revenue plan is just as ambitious, raising the corporate tax rate to match New Jersey's 11.5%, taxing the top 1% of earners a flat 2%, and ending no-bid contracts to save billions more. 'New York is too expensive. Zohran will lower costs and make life easier,' the campaign declares. Progressive campaign earns a movement's backing Senator Bernie Sanders hailed Mamdani's win, saying, 'You took on the political, economic and media establishment, and you beat them.' At his victory party in Queens, Mamdani quoted Nelson Mandela, saying, 'It always seems impossible until it's done. My friends, it is done.' Even Cuomo, conceding with grace, said, 'Tonight is his night. He deserved it. He won.' The general election is scheduled for November 4, 2025. Until then, Mamdani's campaign will likely keep pushing boundaries, just as he once did when he helped Kal Penn land a career-defining role. His mother, Mira Nair, best known for films like Monsoon Wedding and Salaam Bombay!, once said that she looks for actors 'who live truthfully in the moment.' It's a description that might now apply to her son, a politician who refused to play it safe, challenged the old guard, and won.
