Mine is not a typical ABCD story: Kal Penn

How challenging was it to speak in Hindi?

The script was in English, my meetings with Ravi were in English. During the first round of rehearsals in Hyderabad, Ravi asked me to speak in Hindi. I was taken aback as I speak English and Gujarati. Ravi said: ‘What did you think? This is an Indian journalist in the 1980s in Bhopal. You have to speak in Hindi.’ We quickly got a language coach. Rajpal Yadav was a big help.

Did this project give you a chance to reconnect with India?

Though I was born in New Jersey, mine is not a typical ABCD (America Born Confused Desi) story. Every summer, we would visit our grandparents and cousins in India. While growing up in America, I was never confused — I always knew I am an American of Indian descent. Everyone in America is from somewhere and that makes us Americans.

While shooting for Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain, I did not feel like I was rediscovering India. In recent years, it has been wonderful to work with Indian artistes — with Rajpal, who does mainstream Bollywood movies and Irrfan, who does not do typical song-and-dance Bollywood projects.

You started with indie movies. Now you strike a balance between movies and television.

There are fewer mainstream movies now. More indie films and many incredible television shows are being made. In India, the indie film scene has changed a lot in the last five years. With this film releasing now, there is a better chance of it being watched by a wider audience. We did three Harold and Kumar movies. Now, we are working on a Harold and Kumar animation series. We have done the voiceover for the first episode. In the US, they first test it with the audience. If it works, then more episodes would be made. I am also working on a new television serial — Battle Creek, which is about cops. This is the first time I play a cop, carry a gun and nab the bad guys.