American desi rocks in H'wood

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><span style="" font-style:="" italic=""><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script></span><br /><span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Kal Penn''s managed to go where no Indian has gone before, play leading man in Hollywood</span><br /><br />So, here''s an Indian who has bagged meaty roles in Hollywood.Post his comic role in <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">American Desi</span> and brief appearances in popular TV serials like <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">ER</span> and <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Buffy</span>, Kal Penn had almost decided to come to Mumbai and become a VJ. <br /><br /></div> <div align="right" style="position:relative; left: -3"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="right" border="0" width="18.7%"> <colgroup> <col width="100.0%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" white=""> <div class="Normal"><img src="/photo/819847.cms" alt="/photo/819847.cms" border="0" /></div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal">But then came the call from his agent and a starring role in <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle</span>, which is currently on the US Top 10 charts, having grossed $12.3 million. Kal plays the lead role along with John Cho.<br /><br />"My latest release is similar to <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Dude, Where''s My Car?</span> in terms of genre," says Kal. "It''s cool because it''s got the teen comedy element. But it''s also got a lot of intelligence." The movie shows both Harold and Kumar eating more than a dozen hamburgers each, which is ironic considering that in real life Penn is a vegetarian. The Gujarati-Indian actor simply refused to eat the non-veg burgers while shooting for this film.<br /><br />Next up for Penn is the part of Jamie Kennedy''s best friend, Jorge, in <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Mask 2</span>. "I play this guy who is like a special effects techie who is really freaked out at what''s going on with Jamie''s character." <br /><br />After that, Penn is set to be in <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">A Lot Like Love</span> with Ashton Kutcher and Amanda Peet. No other Indian actor has received such wide exposure in mainstream cinema as Penn since Sabu became a phenomenon in the 1940s with films like <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Elephant Boy</span>.<br /><span style="" font-style:="" italic="">bombaytimes@timesgroup.com</span></div> </div>