OBITUARY: Kumar Pallana (1918-2013).
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: Indian American actor Kumar Pallana passed away late last week at the age of 94.
Born in India in 1918, he came to the US in 1946. He tried his hand at acting early on, but back then there simply weren’t any roles for Indians in Hollywood. Instead, he said, he found himself playing Native Americans more often than not. Outside of film, he was a gymnast and an avid practitioner of yoga, which he taught as well.
His claim to fame came from being the proprietor of a restaurant in Dallas, Texas called “Cosmic Cup,” which was a regular hangout for writer/director Wes Anderson and his friend, actor Owen Wilson. Upon meeting him, Anderson cast Pallana in his debut film, 1996’s Bottle Rocket.
Since that time, Pallana appeared in nearly all of Anderson’s films – including 2007’s The Darjeeling Express, which also featured Irrfan Khan – and has starred alongside the likes of Academy Award-nominees and winners such as Bill Murray, James Caan, Adrian Brody, Gene Hackman, and Gwyneth Paltrow.
Pallana is perhaps best remembered for his role in The Terminal, Steven Spielberg’s 2004 comedy about a man (Tom Hanks) being stuck in an airplane terminal for months due to a civil war occurring in his native country that invalidates his passport. Pallana played Gupta Rajan, a custodian at the terminal.
Pallana, known primarily for small comedic parts, also had a brief role in 2010’s Anjaana Anjaani, his only Bollywood film role. In the film, he played a Coast Guard patrolman in New York City who stumbles across the characters played by Priyanka Chopra and Ranbir Kapoor when they are attempting to commit suicide at the beginning of the film.
A talented vaudevillian who would spin plates on sticks and juggle objects on the Mickey Mouse club television show, Pallana is survived by his son, Dipak Pallana. Dipak posted “Dear Papa, you will be missed” on his Facebook page last week, confirming his father’s death on October 10th, just over two months away from his 95th birthday.
To contact the author, email to deepakchitnis@americanbazaaronline.com