Kal Penn has an unconventional portfolio of works. It’s not every day that you see a comedian and actor take a position in the White House, then write a memoir where he discloses his homosexuality and decade-long relationship. Growing up in New Jersey, as the child of Gujarati immigrant parents, none of his career choices were usual. Everyone around him chose something traditional. Today, as an actor, author and former White House staff member in the Barack Obama administration, he has broken all the moulds with his free-wheeling nature. He opens up to us in this quick-fire round of questions.
Contextualise yourself in one line.
Can it be like a Hindi filmy paragraph? I’m just kidding. I guess aspirational. I love to see the best in people. I love meeting people and I love making people laugh.
First job you were hired for.
I started by working at a farm stand in New Jersey, selling fruits and vegetables.
First interaction with humour.
Oh boy, probably a movie like Big with Tom Hanks.
What’s the motto of your life?
I don’t know if I have a motto. I think you should be able to adapt to your evolving interests. If there were a motto, it would just to be kind to people. It doesn’t cost anything.
What’s the strangest talent you have?
My inability to do math.
The one cure you stand by to overcome a creative block.
I need the answer to this. I have no idea what relieves the block. Sometimes just going for a run.
Freedom for you means?
Probably the ability to creatively express what I want to.
Three things, people will be surprised to know about you.
I’m a big NASCAR racing fan. I’m an above-average cook. I can speak Gujarati fluently.
What’s your guilty pleasure?
Tacos.
What has been the most fun gig for you?
I would say probably the Harold and Kumar movies. How I Met Your Mother was also a blast.
If you could have dinner with anyone living or dead, who would it be?
Oh my gosh. I mean probably my grandparents again.
What’s the most surprising thing you have learned about fame?
How kind people can be. It’s one of those crazy things where people feel like they know you because they’ve seen you on their phones, TVs. It immediately gives you an opportunity to connect with people and hear their stories. I just think it’s so wonderful.
What are you high on these days?
A lot of country music and live shows.
What’s the soundtrack of your life?
It’s probably a combination of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Post Malone.
A film you’re never tired of seeing.
The Goonies. A book you love to gift. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay.
One fictional character you have admired or identified with the most.
Like every American nineteen year old would say, it’s Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye. Or Amitabh’s character from Don because one wants to be that badass.
Words Paridhi Badgotri