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American actor Kal Penn, identified for roles starting from self-conscious Gogol in The Namesake to stoner Kumar Patel within the Harold and Kumar franchise, attracts inspiration from a large spectrum of influences, together with Tom Hanks and Mira Nair within the West and Amitabh Bachchan and Kokila Ben from Saath Nibhana Saathiya in India. (Additionally learn: Kal Penn x Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah crossover: Hollywood star visits units of Dilip Joshi’s TV present)
Kal Penn on remaking Don
Penn, who grew up in an Indian immigrant family within the US, desires to remake Bachchan’s iconic movie Don, that includes him within the lead position.
The Home actor was talking at a session, titled You Can’t Be Critical, on the ongoing Jaipur Literature Competition right here at Lodge Clarks Amer on Friday.
“The influences I had have been largely American, like Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, and Mira Nair definitely from the time I used to be a child when she did Mississippi Masala and her I assumed if this lady can do it, then perhaps there’s a path ahead,” the 47-year-old mentioned.
“I stay… I imply, who isn’t an enormous Amitabh Bachchan fan? The unique Don is what I might like to remake, however it could possibly nonetheless be escapist; it could possibly nonetheless be in the identical approach, similar color palette, identical to set in Brooklyn or set in Ohio,” he added.
On his ‘habit’ to watching Saath Nibhana Saathiya
Penn, who was not too long ago seen on the units of well-liked Hindi comedy present Tarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah, additionally acquired “addicted” to watching Hindi cleaning soap Saath Nibhana Saathiya in a bid to brush up his command over the language.
“Each time I’m working in India, I attempt to get a script two months prematurely. One of many methods I attempt to be taught and sustain with Hindi is by watching serials. So I acquired hooked on Saath Nibhana Saathiya, so like Kokila Ben is a nasty***. You don’t wish to cross her and Gopi is clearly a meme like Gopi washing a laptop computer,” Penn mentioned to an viewers bursting into guffaws.
“How do I clarify how good these episodes are to my non-Indian buddies, there isn’t a attainable approach. So these are additionally a few of my more moderen influences.”
Penn has labored in well-liked and critically acclaimed movies and TV exhibits, together with Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain, The Namesake, Designated Survivor, and The Large Bang Concept.
The actor mentioned that with the appearance of OTT platforms like Netflix and Amazon, there may be extra “numerous content material” with actors and creators like Mindy Kaling and Priyanka Chopra. “There’s been an explosion of very numerous content material within the final 10 years, mainly all the things Mindy Kaling has splendidly written and introduced on the air, she is sensible. Priyanka is dipping her ft in all the things, and he or she is crushing it with the Oscar-nominated Indian content material.
About Jaipur Literature Competition 2025
JLF this yr incorporates a lineup of over 300 luminaries reminiscent of Nobel laureates, Booker Prize-winners, journalists, policymakers, and acclaimed writers.
The contributors embody Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Dufflo, Amol Palekar, Ira Mukhoty, Geetanjali Shree, David Hare, Manav Kaul, Javed Akhtar, Rahul Bose, Yuvan Aves, Shahu Patole, and Kallol Bhattacharjee.
