Kal Penn has become Hollywood’s leading East Asian-American actor in lowbrow farces like “Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj” and “Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle.” It was his co-star in the latter, John Cho, who was responsible for recommending that Penn pursue “The Namesake,” the book that became the basis for Penn’s mighty impressive straight performance. Not that director Mira Nair, who had never heard of Penn, didn’t need some encouraging from her son. Our own Raakhee Mirchandani has the whole scoop here.