I dunno, from the trailer it seems funnier than the original. That's not saying much, but it's saying a wee bit.

BTW:

He's not just the star, he's also an executive producer.

I only saw the trailer, and have no intention to see the movie. However, I found his dad calling him "hound dog" funny when they walk into a boing-boing, the rest of the trailer was forgettable.

Maybe he'll redeem himself with Mira Nair/ Jhumpa Lahiri's Namesake. Let's hope.

0% approval? Ouch.

I mean, Kal Penn's accent seems a bit forced, but some of this seemed at least promising. I have to admit, though...my first thoughts on seeing this trailer was, "ah, milking the heck out of the legacy of Harold and Kumar, huh? For shame!" How could they exploit the inherent nobility of that movie like this? It sickens me!

He's not just the star, he's also an executive producer.

That's the real news here. Normally I'd come pretty hard on the UT'ing done by this piece, but I admire what he's trying to do, Hollywood is probably the most sealed industry to people in general, in particular to non-whites. So, in order to ascend you must do it through their filters. The verdict has still yet to emerge regarding KP - will he ever get to have a significant part in a major motion picture that doesn't have him talking about his shlong? (Namesake doesn't count, Superman sort of counts - the role was small, but the franchise iconic)

He could be the next Melvin Van Peebles.

This is a huge bomb at the box office!

According to boxofficemojo this has a opening of $2.3 million at the box office.

To put this into perspective, KANK had an opening weekend of $1.35 million while only playing at 64 screens compared to Taj's 1979 screens.

I dunno, from the trailer it seems funnier than the original. That's not saying much, but it's saying a wee bit.

yeah, i thought the trailer was OK. i like to say "A+, not T & A," but hey, diff. strokes. some of you SMites who i know personally have complained that when you were kids growing up it was always assumed that brown must love brown. well, from a social angle these movies at least make plausible the saying i'm trying to popularize, "brown is the new black." all about the 'tude.

Hollywood is probably the most sealed industry to people in general, in particular to non-whites

the people i know associated with "the industry" talk about the basically ubiquity of nepotism. midwestern whites are just as screwed as non-whites. the industry is stocked with bicoastal elites, and heavily jewish.

I saw the movie. I wouldn't even give it 0%...more like -2.5%. No plot. No story. Poor Jokes.
I want my money back

Salil,

my first thoughts on seeing this trailer was, "ah, milking the heck out of the legacy of Harold and Kumar, huh? For shame!" How could they exploit the inherent nobility of that movie like this? It sickens me!

Well, Harold and Kumar had a Hindu on a quest for beef Hamburgers, a Korean American on a quest for "Buddha" (as in, the smokeable kind), and two Jews looking for (pork) hot dogs. It had an epic structure and a surrealistic plot (like Homer's Odyssey... or dare I say, The Inferno?). It had an unforgettable med school interview, a sociopathic Doogie Howser and a midnight ride on a stray cheetah through the wilds of New Jersey. In short, H & K had imagination and the ability to surprise.

By contrast, The Rise of Taj has a comical Indian accent (blech), and lots of exposed breasts.

Here is what I think.

By contrast, The Rise of Taj has a comical Indian accent (blech), and lots of exposed breasts.

So what's your point? :-D

Oh, one other reason H&KGTWC totally rocked.

Salil, Hell yeah.

By contrast, The Rise of Taj has a comical Indian accent (blech), and lots of exposed breasts. So what's your point? :-D

==>Yeah, whats the problem :))

“make less crap, ‘kay?”

The movie was atrocious!! BUT Kal Penn had hinted at that, especially the past few months, talking in interviews about how he had an option contract (something that signs an actor to multiple films, in this case an option contract for Van Wilder 1 that made him have to work on Van Wilder 2). I heard him on the radio 2 weeks ago here in Dallas, and he talked about how he wanted an Executive Producing credit so that he could try to influence the humor a little (fill in the blanks - Kal must have known that the director of "Boat Trip" and the writer of absolutely nothing wouldn't be able to do a very good job) and break into an industry that doesn't generally allow brown folk to produce much of anything. I'm just saying - for a brown guy in Hollywood, things are incredibly tough, and Kal Penn seems to be trying to break in. Do i fault him for having the balls to do what my pre-med ass used to fantasize about before becoming an effing doctor? No. I admire him for doing what he does, and i hope this monstrosity of a film shows all of us that we still have a long way to go. I'm looking forward to seeing Kal in "The Namesake" and "24" and the "Untitled Harold and Kumar Sequel" - 3 projects he has said he's actually proud of (note how he never says that about the Van Wilders or the equally atrocious "where's the party, yaar?"s.) In the meantime, I think the studio of idiots who made "Van Wilder 2" should be made to watch it over and over again. It was awful. Although admittedly, we did laugh at a few of the Hindi jokes.

And just for the record: Ballistic: Eks Vs. Server also shares the ranking of a 0% on Rotten Tomatoes, as do many comedies. It's a shame that so many comedies come out that seem like they were built around the one or two funny moments that were originally thought up.

But yeah, HaKGTWC, awesome movie.

i haven't seen it, but we all know a brown dude in a comedy like this, even if it was good was likely to get panned. there's a reason advertising and media can not for the life of them show brown dudes. hello, medical drama shows, where are your desi male docs?

but yeah, who cares about this movie. a lot of people don't watch these movies no matter who is in the lead role

I'm probably going to be in the minority here, but I didn't find H&K funny or even really that interesting (and I was even under the influence of alcohol at the time). I think I laughed maybe once or twice (the med school interview) and the only real highlight was "Maria". Doogie Howser's character was atrocious.

From the trailors it looked like Kal Penn was copying Shah Rukh Khan's emotions and actions. Did not look original.

I liked his acting in H&K, but some scenes went a little extreme to show the wild side of partying college kids.

hello, medical drama shows, where are your desi male docs?

Sahej: Good observation, I've been wondering that too!

Actors (and those on the quest of becoming stars) are notorious for not being able to spot bad material. People were surprised that Van Wilder made any money at all considering the National Lampoon franchise had been floundering for many years. Why and how it made money through DVD sales no one can tell but one theory is that the Taj character was funny. Someone would back it up with H&K and lo you have the Rise of Taj.

Kal Penn needs to be very careful about his choices or pretty soon he will be on dancing with the stars. KP has been doing better for himself than John Cho, in terms of the diversity of roles he has been getting. He should continue building his career with solid supporting roles in comedy (did anyone notice Jack Black as a Techie extra in Enemy of the State or could anyone have guessed that Will Ferrell from Old School would be headlining movies and playing a romantic interest to Nicole Kidman?) and drama before trying a lead role. He will not get too many chances to fuck up in the lead and like the Hollywood Reporter pointed out, Rise of Taj should never have been a theatrical. It has straight to DVD written all over it.

Getting in front of a Hollywood camera is infinitely more challenging for a minority than getting behind one, and that is a big ask in itself. But like they say in cricket, if you stay at the wicket the runs will come. Most Development executives that make a lot of the low level decisions lack creativity and imagination, which is good cos that's not their job. Their job is to be able to spot good material and then excite the fuck out of everyone else so that they want to make a movie. However, they think they have imagination and that's the first problem. The secomg problem that Hollywood has is that no one will make a decision unless they can hide behind numbers, previous results etc. So, when someone says Rise of Taj flopped, that was the worst idea ever. The Exec that pushed the idea will say, our consumer research shows that middle America likes teen sex comedies, and the new wave is to have minority teen sex comedy like H&K and Van Wilder.

The Exec holds on to his job until he tries to develop Let's go to prison 2 starring John Cho. Then his/her career will end and he will become an agent or even better an Indie Producer. The other thing Hollywood does is it thinks it knows middle America. They can't relate to an Indian without an accent or gays they say. But then a movie comes along and everyone is proved wrong. Nobody knows anything. It's a high stakes poker game where everyone thinks they are the House, but no one is. When Lucas tried to hawk Star Wars, no studio wanted to touch it because sci-fi was dead they said. And Lucas wasn't some random dude. He had made a hit movie already (American Graffiti).

Shyamalan had a lot of clout and still does because his movies made a lot of MONEY. Mel Gibson, that huge star had his biggest opening at the box office with...you guessed right, Signs. Hollywood respects people who can make money. Nothing else matters. It's a different matter that they think the people they know (white, Jewish) can make money and others can't.

Kal Penn should take a couple of screenwriting classes, and write a script starring himself that he can produce. He can bring me in to doctor it and give him better lines while He is snorting coke out of someone's ass.

What! The character is actually named Badalandabad? Lord!

hello, medical drama shows, where are your desi male docs?

The answer to that is that for the most part desi men aren't seen as sexy -- we're a bit emasculated (in the same boat as east Asian men). Medical dramas are more about sexy and quirky characters than they are about realistically showing you what an emergency room looks like demographically (and don't let the jargon they throw around fool you).

With desi men on TV, Naveen Andrews is the exception, though many viewers may presume that he's actually from Iraq. The guy on Heroes is also helping, I would guess. Both are on sci-fi shows, interestingly enough.

for the most part desi men aren't seen as sexy

yeah, i agree Amardeep. Not the end of the world, but still...i feel like telling TV...stop being stupid!

What! The character is actually named Badalandabad? Lord!

Correct me if I am wrong, but he has the same name in the last movie too.

... had the same name ...

Sorry.

for the most part desi men aren't seen as sexy

well here's a reason to watch "VW2:TROT" and support a desi bro. his accent & name notwithstanding, "the sultan of snatch" gets to make fu@ky with angrezi memsahibas.

well here's a reason to watch "VW2:TROT" and support a desi bro. his accent & name notwithstanding, "the sultan of snatch" gets to make fu@ky with angrezi memsahibas.

There has to be a way out of the zero-sum game in which if desi men are treated as three-dimensional characters, its not an attack on desi women also being treated as three-dimensional characters.

Why can we not have a media in which both desi men and women are considered to be worth playing any part in a TV show or movie? (?)

Does anyone else wonder if the stereotyped and really crappy performance in WW2: TROT invites the beginning of Blaxploitation-style desi films?

In LA, people refused to see the film as my non-South Asian friends said the same Indian jokes about sex and the parentals were getting old. So we passed. Desi-fication on a mass level seems to contrite for an audience looking for the intelligently witty comedies. They also said Kal looked fat (in other words not as attractive as Naveen Andrews or Jimi Mistry) so no worth the pretty penny.

Why can we not have a media in which both desi men and women are considered to be worth playing any part in a TV show or movie? (?)

Doordarshan. Desi Superman, anyone? ;)

Or are we going to just live in a ghetto where we're scared to see images of people like us in media doing things everyone else does in a MULTI-Ethnic society

i would question the sanity of those who expected this to be an intelligent witty comedy. it was along the lines of road trip, american pie..etc. juvenile humor.

same Indian jokes about sex and the parentals were getting old.

They also said Kal looked fat

ummn, ummn, ummn, tough crowd here, brotha can't catch a break.
better hit the skies and head to bollywood. stale stories and fat actors flourish there.

hello, medical drama shows, where are your desi male docs?

not enough of them

Hopefully you're rooting as hard for Parminder Nagra

:-)

(i do it every time)

They also said Kal looked fat

Damn! Since when did the KP have to abide by the same superficial beauty standards Bollywood actresses' are constantly plagued by?

Amardeep:

And no, one doesn’t go to movies just to “support” aspiring Indian American actors. Really, the best support anyone can give Kal Penn at this point is an email along the lines of “make less crap, ‘kay?”

How true!

With desi men on TV, Naveen Andrews is the exception, though many viewers may presume that he's actually from Iraq. The guy on Heroes is also helping, I would guess. Both are on sci-fi shows, interestingly enough.

Sci-fi! I don't think that Heroes and Lost have anything scientific about them :)-Fiction yes, Sci-fi-NO.

So in the US we get "The Flop of Taj" and in India, we get some lawyer filing a lawsuit against Ash and Hrithik for doing a kissing scene in "Dhoom 2":
http://movies.yahoo.com/mv/news/va/20061203/116514806700.html
I'm confused...is it even worth it anymore to watch Indian movies?
Hopefully The Namesake will redeem this trend.

[blockquote]
Does anyone else wonder if the stereotyped and really crappy performance in WW2: TROT invites the beginning of Blaxploitation-style desi films?
[/blockquote]

It's too late. About 10 minutes into [i]Where's the Party, Yaar[/i], my friends and I started referring to it as the first "Brownsploitation" film.

Yikes... I've clearly been posting on phpbb-style message boards for too long today!

And no, one doesn’t go to movies just to “support” aspiring Indian American actors.

ohh well ... im sure kal will still get laid cause of the movie

As an Indian who has carried the Taj nickname for almost 32 years, I couldn't be happier about this.

"They also said Kal looked fat"

?????!!!!!!!!

That's right - Kal should get an eating disorder! Come on Kal! Why don't you be more white like all those white actors with perfect bodies! can't you see? That's what the desi girls want!

-another fatty

bad-a-land-a-bad ??? Are they talking about India here or am i reading too much into this

Mytake, I think it's a twist on "Hyderabad." Incidentally, the full name of his character is "Taj Mahal Badalandabad"... pretty stupid!

Saw it... it's a stupid movie, but one that's enjoyable if you go with a group of friends. Time-pass, basically. It has its funny moments, although the movie does move a little too slowly (and I'm someone who loved the original Van Wilder).

It's not as bad as the reviews make it out to be, however.

I dont care, I am going to watch it neway
thank you

It's good that the Namesake is already done, and 24 filmed, because it's tough to secure roles in "high" culture films and television (read: appealing to the over-thirty-five crowd) after being reviewed so poorly in a "low" culture film. Kal's career has a good chance to recover, I hope. It's strange that when a South Asian is derided in any venue of American pop culture, even if he or she deserves it AND I agree with the general assessment, I can't help but feel a defensive twinge at the gut level.

I'm someone who loved the original Van Wilder

They do exist!

Man, everyone worrying over Kal Penn is freaking out unnecessarily. Every actor in Hollywood has made some bad movies. It's part of the business. That's especially true of comic actors, since comedies don't usually have to be "good" to make money as long as they're funny. Jim Carrey's early movies consisted of idiotic stuff like "Love Bites". Adam Sandler's "Going Overboard" is almost painful to watch. Will Ferrell was in a bunch of terrible stuff before he broke out -- "Night at the Roxbury" anyone? Kal Penn's doing fine by comparison.

And "The Namesake" will help him, as long as it's not completely awful. Hollywood always makes a big show of loving well-made "ethnic identification" movies (like "The Joy Luck Club"), even as it closes its doors to the people who want to make them.

Does anyone else wonder if the stereotyped and really crappy performance in WW2: TROT invites the beginning of Blaxploitation-style desi films?

so i saw the movie and was worried about the stereotypes that it would present before i saw it - but honestly it wasn't horrible. sure Taj has an accent (which kal penn slipped in and out of) but it really wasn't the basis of the comedy - like not many jokes were centered around how he says something, really the accent is a facet of his character. his name is long and absurd, but the running joke is that while most of the young people have no problem pronouncing it, the old white dude stumbled over it every time - something i think many of us here would relate to. he studies history, not engineering. he gets the (white) girl in the end. he's the leader of a pack of nerds, not really presented as a nerd himself. his sister is pretty in the two seconds she's shown and his parents talk about sex. there aren't too many stereotypes in taj at all actually.

look this isn't great film or anything (but, seriously, was anyone expecting it to be?) but i do think that kal penn did put adequate effort into not making the character a stereotypical indian. just because the character has an accent doesn't mean that he's automatically exploiting his desi-ness.

besides there was one funny line in the movie:
earl of gray (stuffy british dude about to fence with taj): i'll finish you like my ancestors did. (or something to that affect)
taj: you're going exploit me economically??

I found the movie to be time pass and not as bad as the reviewers are panning it. Worth spending the money if you are not expecting a great masterpiece everytime. Well, really enjoyed KP's acting and he did come out as cool in this. The humour was also entertaining. I dont care a damn if ppl dont see it, its good enough for me...but then i am only a poor FOB!

Why don't you be more white like all those white actors with perfect bodies! can't you see? That's what the desi girls want!

Calm yourself, it was the mems who declared him too fat.

Hey am I the only one who thinks that The Namesake looks kinda...crappy? I love Kalpin Modi ( as he credited as an exec producer) but I just dont think he was right for the part. He looks a bit hokey with the long stragly hair. Also the story seems sort of interesting but still the same old "am I Indian or am I American ...I dont know, I am so confused!" crap we are used to. And the aging makeup on tabu and the other actor dont look that good. Lastly, Nair has been known to make some flops. She cfan be a bit sacchrine at times and heavy handed. I hope for the best, but then when you see the realease has been delayed 3-4 times I get a bit worried.

Dabba, your last line made me wonder. Is Kal Penn being swept up in the Hollywood lifestyle with gori girls, drug, and booze?

Also, I still want my money back for "Wheres the Party Yaar?" It was nothing but a bundle of bad cliches.

"Fat" was stated by the gal pals who have the dreamy Naveen Andrews and the sexy Jimi Mistry to swoon over. After all, if men notice the faux tans of Ms. Ash, can't we giggle over the double chin found on Kal?

Amini,
The last line is my imagination run amok. As a Pre-pro (Pro for professional and pre as in before, aka wannabe aka struggling artist), this is what I see happening. Hanging out on the set of Kal's movie which he produces and acts in (Zack Braff anyone...that kid will continue making his oh so quirky and indulgent films where he can play his favorite music, that will continue to be funded until Scrubs goes off the air), I get called in at the last minute and I finally think here is my moment to be on the set with all these glamorus folks.

The Director (Danny Leiner - of H&K and Dude, Where's my car fame) throws the script at me and says, this scene makes no sense. Kal Penn is a genius but...Kal Penn overhears this and takes a breather from the ass that he is snorting coke out of, has a big shit-eating grin and says Dude...

I tell them that I think better on my feet after I have done some snorting out of the ass myself, and they quickly boot me out of the trailer. Writers should be read not heard, they say.

I return in 30 minutes and hand them a brilliantly comic scene for the aptly titled Gogol Taj Kumar - Death of a Pimp. Scene filmed, high fives all around and 2 months later I watch the DVD commentary of the movie (yet another direct to DVD for our man KP) where Danny talks about KP's comic genius and how he adlibbed many parts of the movie. KP chimes in, saying he just went with that scene where he is supposed to die milking a donkey, and mutters the best line of the movie "It's hard out there for a pimp" to a classical sarod score.

or some such...

It's hard out there for a pimp.

Kal Penn is a shame to UCLA's theater, film and television school. You don't go to one of the best programs in the country, get hooked up with a shitload of connections (which he must have missed out on, or something...), most of who (by the way) are young desi PR execs, and make flop films.

Once, Kal came to Sproul Hall to show us younguns his "Where's the Party Yaar?" and then complained about how the Diaspora doesn't support the rising desi actor by financing projects and hence creating better roles. I think Kal's predicament is that he is neither a good actor (as in can't make the connections necessary to succeed in the industry) nor a good businessman (can't figure out a dollar from his ass hitting the ground).

*Kal, buddy, you're Gujju. Why don't you hit up your community and make deals with them? Where are your networking skills? Why don't you take control of your own destiny, boy?*

And Kal Penn has an ugly nose. All honky and stuff, lol!

-MPG

And Kal Penn has an ugly nose. All honky and stuff, lol!

I see people are drinking the haterade in large gulps.

>> Adam Sandler's "Going Overboard" is almost painful to watch. Will Ferrell was in a bunch of terrible stuff before he broke out -- "Night at the Roxbury" anyone? Kal Penn's doing fine by comparison.

and don't forget Tom Hanks in "Bachelor Party" - the American Pie and Van Wilder of its time...

hello, medical drama shows, where are your desi male docs?

In NBC's "Heroes," Senil Ramamurthy plays a geneticist, and he is sexy.

Have a nice day.

hello, medical drama shows, where are your desi male docs?

In NBC's "Heroes," Senil Ramamurthy plays a geneticist, and he is sexy.

I think Sahej was asking about "real" doctors... ;)

"I see people are drinking the haterade in large gulps."

Abhi, you just can't handle that I have a nose fetish... :P

-MPG

Isn't it our duty as Desi's to go see the movie and increase Kal's awareness. Our folks are slowly gaining presence in hollywood, some in non-stereotypical roles, shouldn't we support the movie regardless? Who here really expected 'Rise of Taj' to be the next academy winner for best acting?

Don't men to get racial, but when Denzel or Will Smith make a movie, they're certain all (well most) blacks would go see it. Some are fans and some show at theaters for support.

"Boat Trip", the only other movie by Mort Nathan (the director of Rise of Taj), has a Rotten Tomatoes rating of only 7%. So, it's the fault of the director most likely...the basic plot and the actors for Rise of Taj were alright.

I think Sahej was asking about "real" doctors... ;)

I know, I just wanted to say he's sexy :D
I think Sahej also meant actual "medical shows," as opposed to shows about people with superpowers.

hello, medical drama shows, where are your desi male docs?

The answer to that is that for the most part desi men aren't seen as sexy -- we're a bit emasculated (in the same boat as east Asian men). Medical dramas are more about sexy and quirky characters than they are about realistically showing you what an emergency room looks like demographically (and don't let the jargon they throw around fool you).

With desi men on TV, Naveen Andrews is the exception, though many viewers may presume that he's actually from Iraq. The guy on Heroes is also helping, I would guess. Both are on sci-fi shows, interestingly enough.

This is such a shame, especially since I think Naveen Andrews is gross. Lost counts as sci-fi?

Kinda psyched about the Uncle Jes-minder (sooo much more creative than Brangelina, no?) relationship on ER though. It's the only reason I watch.

Kinda psyched about the Uncle Jes-minder (sooo much more creative than Brangelina, no?) relationship on ER though. It's the only reason I watch.

EEwww. Is that really happening right now on ER? I'm grossed out.

Mytake, I think it's a twist on "Hyderabad." Incidentally, the full name of his character is "Taj Mahal Badalandabad"... pretty stupid!

bada - big
land - dick (in the parlance of the street) if this spelling is accepted.
abad - common suffix to mean 'city'. literally, a populated place, I think.

So, it's 'city of big dicks'. OK, excuse me while I go and kill myself because I suspect none of you good people even thought of this interpretation and I...that's the only thing I could think of.

OK, excuse me while I go and kill myself because I suspect none of you good people even thought of this interpretation and I...that's the only thing I could think of.

To the contrary, you have provided an entirely new interpretation to the title 'The Rise of Raj ... ' ;)

abad - common suffix to mean 'city'. literally, a populated place, I think

At the risk of being labeled a pervert, let me point out that abad has two meaning in Urdu, based on how it is pronounced. One is 'forever/eternal', and the other is 'flourishing'.

They also said Kal looked fat (in other words not as attractive as Naveen Andrews or Jimi Mistry) so no worth the pretty penny.

And Kal Penn has an ugly nose. All honky and stuff, lol!

I wouldn't kick him out of bed. I think Kalpen is cute. And while I carry an entirely-too-charitable torch for Malayalee boys, I'd take Jimi over Naveen any day.

And while I carry an entirely-too-charitable torch for Malayalee boy

For that (and the torch you carry for engineers) we are very grateful :). The check is in the mail.

For that (and the torch you carry for engineers) we are very grateful :). The check is in the mail.

:)

the people i know associated with "the industry" talk about the basically ubiquity of nepotism. midwestern whites are just as screwed as non-whites. the industry is stocked with bicoastal elites, and heavily jewish.

While the Jewish representation is high, this does not immediately equate the opportunity of a nonwhite and a midwestern white. A nonwhite who does succeed in entertainment whether it be behind or in front of the camera is immediately branded a racist if he or she insists on having nonwhite crew, stunt doubles etc.. The only person to do it to date, Spike Lee. And he's not branded a "reverse racist" right?

In the movie Romeo Must Die, a white stunt woman did a 50 ft descender fall for a black character. [link] The reverse would never occur. There are about 2-3 black stuntwomen working.

I can go on and on about countless times where white actors played non white characters. Just talking about desi characters: Fisher Stevens as Ben Jhaveri, in Short Circuit, Alec Guiness as Godbole in Passage to India, Ben Kingsley (although, he's half Indian) as Gandhi come to mind. I'd like to know if the reverse ever occurred.

To say that Hollywood elite is heavily bicoastal and elite is true, to conclude that implies a non white and a midwestern white is on equal footing is absolutely not.

kal penn interview

excerpt:

"When I was first approached to do the sequel, I initially said no..."

interview

back to the vs fashion show... pc out

Kinda psyched about the Uncle Jes-minder (sooo much more creative than Brangelina, no?) relationship on ER though. It's the only reason I watch.

EEwww. Is that really happening right now on ER? I'm grossed out.

hahaaaa, i'm sure thats pissing the anti-miscengenators off big time

It could've been worse...he could've produced "Soul Plane 2."

dabba,

I return in 30 minutes and hand them a brilliantly comic scene for the aptly titled Gogol Taj Kumar - Death of a Pimp. Scene filmed, high fives all around and 2 months later I watch the DVD commentary of the movie (yet another direct to DVD for our man KP) where Danny talks about KP's comic genius and how he adlibbed many parts of the movie. KP chimes in, saying he just went with that scene where he is supposed to die milking a donkey, and mutters the best line of the movie "It's hard out there for a pimp" to a classical sarod score.

Donkey milking? eww to you.

It sounds like a rip off of the scene from "Freddy Got Fingered" where he "milks the horse" or something of the sort. (I watched that scene in front of my female cousins and I was the only one crying from laughter..damn prudes)

You really have an overactive imagination dabba. If you aren't claiming to be a doctor or a Nasa scientist like these other folks, Bollywood beckons you.

Oh yes it is!

Huh? Wasn't her character married? [Silly me]

OK, either I have a terribly filthy mind and no one else is even noticing or I just don't know when to shut up.

bada - big
land - dick (in the parlance of the street) if this spelling is accepted.
abad - common suffix to mean 'city'. literally, a populated place, I think.

So, it's 'city of big dicks'. OK, excuse me while I go and kill myself because I suspect none of you good people even thought of this interpretation and I...that's the only thing I could think of.

To the contrary, you have provided an entirely new interpretation to the title 'The Rise of Raj ... ' ;)

Just saw it, shades of Harry Potter. Everyone's mispronouncing Badalandabad throughout, of course. I thought Taj became American in self-defense after being chucked out of Fox & Hounds. Except for the megahung dog, Balzac, it's too polite on its face to be funny. Anyhow, I hope Kurma and sakshi will re-educate the public when the DVD comes out...there must have been some points made.