If they're the butt of the joke, they're the butt of the joke. Things that-I mean, nobody really identifies with a stereotype, right? Because they're the stereotype. But one of the things the audiences seem to respond to was the more human elements. In the first one, he is the sidekick stereotype in a lot of ways. In the first film, as I recall, he's maybe a little more the butt of the joke, and here he's. G: Yeah, I'm curious about that, specifically-the creative input you had in building the character and expanding the character to a more full, fleshed-out character. So it was the first time I produced a film and it-I enjoyed it because you have more control over your character and you can kind of help the story-help the plot-make it more fun. And so, we sat down and negotiated being able to produce the film with them. And that's where I realized that there might be a good opportunity to help with the creative team on that. So we talked about developing an idea that would be a spin-off where it's Taj as himself four years later. I didn't want to do something that would be, you know, interpreted as trying to imitate that or something. Especially since Ryan did such a great job-Ryan Reynolds did such a great job in Van Wilder, the first one. I-you know, when they approached me to do The Rise of Taj, my first inclination was "no" because I didn't want it to be some lame knock-off sequel. G: Do you feel an added responsibility in the center of a big film like this?
But I'm sure you have experience on the stage in playing the lead, right?
G: In which you're also playing the lead. You have a film called The Namesake coming out next year. G: Recently you've moved into playing leads. G: Probably sets the bar a little higher, I would guess. But in terms of all the nonsense and the cringing humor from the first one, the spin-off has equal amounts of that kind of stuff. I trust that Taj and his new mates subscribe to the notion that all's fair in love and war. This movie, of course, has a big rivalry in it. G: And that sort of stems from a heritage of National Lampoon movies, I guess. Finding your own greatness personally, and if people like it, they like it, and, if not, that's their problem, sort of thing. KP: It really is the whole unique originality, the-you know, doing things because you want to do them. And I say that because-it's funny, he's not-the whole "Van Wilder" brand is not based on any actual set of rules. G: And what are the top lessons that one would learn from Taj? So now he goes to grad school in the U.K. KP: He's been the new proverbial Van Wilder in those four years, you know? He took over Van's role essentially as planning parties and counseling the underclassmen and all of that. G: And what's he been doing in the four year interim? And he's cool because of that uniqueness. And this film is a spin-off four years later where he really is confident-he's comfortable with himself because he's accepted his, sort of, uniqueness. I mean, in the first film, he was really kind of the nervous sidekick who was so uncomfortable because he had no sense of self, pretty much.
G: How much more confident is Taj Badalamanabad this time-? G: And so, the student becomes the master. Groucho: We're here with a prominent actor on the rise. This interview also aired on Celluloid Dreams (90.5FM in San Jose, CA) on November 27, 2006. I spoke with Penn at San Francisco's Clift Hotel. Penn also originated the role of Taj Badalamanabad in National Lampoon's Van Wilder Taj has been promoted to star in National Lampoon's Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj. Kal Penn's film credits include Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (he was Kumar, and will be again in the soon-to-film sequel), Superman Returns, SueƱo, American Desi, and the upcoming The Namesake.