Latest news with #Harold&Kumar
Time of India
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
EXCLUSIVE! Kal Penn Would 'Love to Do a Rocky Aur Rani'; Reveals How Taarak Mehta ka Ooltah Chashmah Improved His Hindi
Kal Penn; Photos by Prathamesh Bandekar Kal Penn , known for his roles in House and the Harold & Kumar series, was recently in Mumbai in the first week of April. 'I was hosting a gala this time, but I stayed on for a few days for meetings, see some family, and because I love Mumbai so much. So as much as I can stay, I always like to,' he says. For an exclusive shoot with Bombay Times, Penn takes a stroll along the iconic Juhu beach, eats Pani Puri and even relishes a nariyal pani. "I will have to warn my mum that the pani puri was just for the pictures," he quips. During his stroll, he shares his ambitions to deepen his connection with the Indian entertainment industry - which comprises of securing local representation and pursuing OCI (Overseas Citizenship of India) status. Read the excerpts as followed... ' I would love to do a Bollywood film' Mumbai isn't a new city for Penn; in fact, it's a place where he's spent his summer vacations as a kid, zipping between Dadar and Juhu. This familiarity might explain why he's particularly impressed by the city's latest infrastructure - the coastal road bridge, which has slashed travel time between the suburbs and South Bombay. "The coastal road is actually amazing. The fact that you can get to South Bombay that much quicker is amazing. I live in New York, so I'm no stranger to congestion, traffic, construction, et cetera. But every time I come here, I feel like there's more and more infrastructure that has been built,' he shares. He adds, "I just always love coming and working in Mumbai. With so many of the OTT shows and there's just so much diversity of content here and I'd love to come back to work. I would love to do a huge Bollywood film or an OTT show." Kal Penn; Photos by Prathamesh Bandekar ' I have not been offered a Hindi film yet' Penn doesn't mince his words stating that he wants to do a Hindi film. And his choices are as quintessential as it can be for an NRI. ' Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani ,' he states when asked what kind of Hindi film he would like to work in. 'I don't think I've been offered a Hindi film yet. So, I feel this is an amazing time to explore that,' he adds. ' TMKOC and Saath Nibhaana Saathiya helped me with my Hindi' 121245070 As Penn talks about Hindi cinema, it is important to mention, how during his last visit to India in November last year, the actor visited the sets of popular Hindi TV show, Taarak Mehta ka Ooltah Chashmah . Penn is self admittedly a fan of the show. 'So, I'm fluent in Gujarati and English. But I had to learn Hindi because I didn't grow up speaking (Hindi). And one of the ways I think a lot of people learn a language is through movies and TV. So, the two shows that I watched a lot to better my Hindi were both very watchable, very meme heavy, you can't scroll insta without seeing memes from either their show. They are Taarak Mehta ka Ooltah Chashmah and Saath Nibhaana Saathiya .' ' Back in the day, South Asian community wasn't huge in the West' The West has seen an influx of multiple South Asian actors including Bollywood star Priyanka Chopra Jonas entering the industry. Penn who could easily be one of the early ones to make a striking impact in the Hollywood entertainment industry feels great about. 'Back in the day when I was starting out my career, it wasn't a huge community, but there were talented, trained Indian American actors who had gone to theater school, film school. And when I would audition for projects in the late 90s, early 2000s – even if they were specifically Indian American or specifically Indian characters – there were still white actors who would audition for those roles, and they would just put makeup on them if they got the job. So, it just makes me happy, how far we have come,' he shares. Talking further, "Art is constantly in flux and updating. There are these super talented producers and content creators, whether it's Mindy (Kaling, creator) or Priyanka (Chopra Jonas, actor) and all the stuff that they're doing. You have people like me wanting to come and sell shows here and work here (in India). Lines and categories are blurred, both from the sake of content creators and also for audiences because I think they're able to enjoy projects that weren't offered to us 10 or 15 years ago.' Kal Penn; Photos by Prathamesh Bandekar ' If an audience sensibility has changed, I would want to update that to make sure an audience laughs' Penn, who also does stand-up comedy wishes to explore that in India. However, with the ongoing censorship over standup comedy in the country, Penn isn't dithered. 'As an American actor and a comic, I just need to be mindful of my views. Somethings might be different back at home or last year, but it may be different now because laws and the sensibilities are different. Back at home, I always get this question, 'Are you upset that you could never make a movie like Harold and Kumar today? You could never make the jokes you made 20 years ago?' I always found them strange because why would I want to make the jokes I made 20 years ago? I've made those jokes. That's a barometer of comedy that's changed. If an audience sensibility has changed, I would want to update that to make sure an audience laughs. It is different there. As an American, my view is if I don't like something that someone's saying, and that happens often because comedy and art are always subjective, I personally, don't get worked up over it. I would just change the channel because I'm confident in my viewing habits. I would defend somebody's right to say whatever they want to say, whether I agree with it or not. That's the vibrancy of what we offer as artists. Comedy is subjective," he explains, and adds, "I'm mindful of wanting to learn the lay of the land and learn what are the benchmarks? What are the parameters? What's allowed, what's not allowed? I had a couple standup comedy friends here, who explained to me that technically, I cannot use cuss words on stage. That's not something that I would have known, as an American ' If my presence makes somebody feel less invisible, more empowered, that is wonderful' Penn's partner Josh (his last name is not in the public domain yet) didn't accompany the actor on his trip to the country. 'He wanted to come. He's part of a friend's wedding. So couldn't make it.' Penn came out earlier in 2021 and admits 'people have been very kind' to his coming out. 'Everybody figures themselves out at different times. There's no timeline for it. There are some people who figure themselves out at seven, and for other people, I have heard stories and interacted with people who in their 70s have figured themselves out. I don't live in a vacuum. I am very well aware of how and why representation matters. If my presence makes somebody feel less invisible, more empowered, that is wonderful. I didn't necessarily have that.' Ask him if there is going to be a wedding, and Penn quickly quips, 'Did my mom tell you to ask that? We've been engaged for seven years. So, we need to get it together.' Ask Kal if there is going to be a fourth part of Harold and Kumar : 'I would love to make a fourth movie. We had three movies. Thanks to all the fans. We would all love to make a fourth one. There's nothing on the books right now. We are trying to figure. I love that character so much. He's cooler than I will ever be in real life. I'd love to do it."
Telegraph
07-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
One of Them Days: A welcome return to the easy-breezy (and very puerile) buddy comedy
In the week of an Oscars ceremony that bent over backwards – literally, in Anora's case – to spotlight the edgy and the art-house, comes this refreshingly unserious buddy comedy. Director Lawrence Lamont leans into the age-old American tradition of packing layabout best friends into battered cars and following them around for a day – think Harold & Kumar mixed with a little bit of Dazed and Confused, just without the weed – for his film about two BFFs whose mission to pay their rent on time descends into farce. The two couldn't be more different. Alyssa (played by RnB star and last year's Glastonbury headliner SZA, in her debut film role) is a ditsy aspiring artist while Keke Palmer's Dreux is an anxious, hard-working waitress at a diner whose dreams of becoming a franchise manager are on the cusp of becoming a reality. Unluckily for her, her big interview happens to fall on the same day that her artist best friend Alyssa's waster boyfriend has blown their rent money on a doomed business venture: a line of clothes emblazoned with the Gucci logo, only replaced with the word 'Coochie'. His appeal only becomes clear when we see him half-naked, and the camera hones in on the alarmingly massively bulge in his boxer shorts. As Dreux puts it, her friend is in a doomed relationship with a penis. With their dodgy landlord on the prowl, the pair embark on a frantic race around Los Angeles to make the $1,500 required to evade eviction: there's a desperate plea to a payday lender (Keyla Monterroso Mejia) whose glee at their dire credit scores will make anyone with a sub-500 rating blush; a get-rich-quick scheme at a blood bank results in Dreux's bodily fluids being sprayed around the room, Substance -style; and Alyssa's idea to sell a pair of rare trainers she finds hanging from a telephone line winds up with a nefarious gangster (Amin Joseph) trying to kill them. It's only when their new rich, white neighbour, played by a knowingly ditzy Maude Apatow, happily coughs up the cash to buy one of Alyssa's paintings that their luck starts to change. The gags are puerile – characters twerk, curse, crash into walls and get electrocuted – yet delightfully physical, harking back to a simpler time when comedy didn't need to have a 'Message'. Palmer (whose mega-voltage charisma could power LA itself) and SZA make a natural double-act, while the film's very existence – as a comedy set to have a wide release in cinemas – is reason enough for celebration. These sorts of easy-breezy comedies don't get made much anymore, and if they do, they're released exclusively on streamers, destined to sink without a trace. One of Them Days should be just the ticket to get those looking for a good time back into cinemas. Just maybe don't take your parents.
