By Joginder Tuteja, Bollywood Trade News Network

Kal Penn, who is winning accolodes for his performance in Mira Nair's THE NAMESAKE, is not an unknown name in Hollywood.

After acting in around a couple of dozen international assignments, his big moment came in SUPERMAN RETURNS where he played the main villain Kevin Spacey's trusted lieutenant. As the character which goes by the name of Stanford, he can be seen in almost all the frames featuring Spacey and though he doesn't have many dialogues to speak there, he makes up for it due to his strong screen presence.

For starters, Kal Penn is Gujarati by origin with his full name being Kalpen Suresh Modi. He was born in New Jersey and now resides in L.A.

In THE NAMESAKE, he appears as American-born Gogol, the son of Indian immigrants, who wants to fit in among his fellow New Yorkers, despite his family's unwillingness to let go of their traditional ways.