The Rise of Taj | Sepia Mutiny

A franchise is born. The circle is now complete. And he who was once the pupil has now become the master –

Yes, it’s actually happening: the sequel to Van Wilder: Party Liaison is coming together.

The focus of Van Wilder II: The Rise Of Taj is (unsuprisingly) Kal Penn’s character from the first movie. He’ll head to Oxford University to continue his studies and end up showing us stuffy Brits how to party.

Ryan Reynolds is not expected to appear in this follow-up, to be directed by Boat Trip’s Mort Nathan.

The Hollywood Reporter answers the question so many of us are no doubt asking – why?

Bauer Martinez Distribution has acquired North American distribution rights to “Van Wilder II: The Rise of Taj.” The film, being produced by Tapestry Films, is shooting in Romania. “Wilder II” is the sequel to 2002’s “National Lampoon’s Van Wilder,” which made $21 million at the boxoffice but went on to become a cult hit on DVD.

Where once the box office determined our hero’s fate, ’tis now Blockbuster, Netflix, and direct DVD sales.

Keep an eye on IMDB for details as they emerge. Kal Penn will also have a prominent role in next year’s Superman Returns.

9 thoughts on “The Rise of Taj”

us stuffy Brits how to party.

…and take it through the car wash, baby. And get it waxed. 🙂

First non-desi movie with non-stereotyped desi lead. Can it really be happening? I hope he does not ride on tigers and is less shy with the desi hottie next door in this one.

hey, thats so cool – I watched the Van WIlder movie just yesterday – and yes, come to think of it, blockbuster had it at ‘short wait’ for a long time . It was funny watching MrModi whoop it up in a FOB accent, but sometimes the ABCD accent would break through. Liked the dude’s role, but the names – ugh. ‘Specially the hot indian babe – what was that? somethin Nizamabad. More power to Kal. Muff-diving, yay !!

i thought NLVW was an adorable movie, and that’s not just b/c i’m a huge ryan reynolds fan. sure the accent was excessive (though it was the unintelligible names for cities and people that actually annoyed me) but i didn’t find the movie mean-spirited. taj is a hottie, this is such good news. 😉

Desi American coming to the UK to teach Brits how to party? What the fuck?

No doubt, no Desi Crew’s or bhangra boys or sexy funky British Desi’s will be featured in one of these kooky comedies about, like, Americans coming to YooRup and, like, partying out dude.

Clueless.

That is good news for Kal. Does anyone have any clue about Harold and Kumar Go To Amsterdam ?

And about Superman … good one.

Irrespective of the typical stereotyped desi flavor in Van Wilder, I actually enjoyed the ‘Taj’ express zipping in and out through the movie. If they can just keep the gags on this side of the stupidity-border – Van Wilder II may turn out to be a fun ride.

True dat Pablo! Desis in the UK need no help from anyone when it comes to partying!

BUT of course this movie isn’t going to be about DESIS partying, just students in general. I am cringing at the very thought of this – I know they’ll portray Oxford as some Etonian fantasy land of princes and toffs, when in reality it’s pished bridge-jumpers and townies.

Oxford needs severe help when it comes to partying, not because they’re posh or anything, just cos Oxford’s a boring dive. But hey, at least it’s not Cambridge shudder.

Anyway, I think Kal Penn’s cool, so party on!

The odd thing here is the Van Wilder sequel could take the wind of a Harold and Kumar sequel. Same actor involved, same location, same type of audience etc. Ryan Reynolds propbably passed on the Van Wilder sequel as he probably sees himself getting bigger and bigger over the next year (he has a lot coming out) and will getting into big budget action etc. Good news for Kal — finally getting paid well and a chance to show an Indian lead can carry a film. Which is priority no. 1

Awesome. An asians moving up in the hollywood business. Lets just hope its not a corny flop.

Ive been up to oxford visiting mates, and believe me theres about 10 brown people in the uni altogether, and about 80% of them no nothing about any culture in india – coconuts.

Itll be funny to see if they show it this way in the movie, or even if they show us brownies at all.

DesiDudeInAustin on December 4, 2005 at 11:25 pm said:

us stuffy Brits how to party.

…and take it through the car wash, baby. And get it waxed. 🙂

First non-desi movie with non-stereotyped desi lead. Can it really be happening? I hope he does not ride on tigers and is less shy with the desi hottie next door in this one.
fob on December 5, 2005 at 12:04 am said:

hey, thats so cool – I watched the Van WIlder movie just yesterday – and yes, come to think of it, blockbuster had it at ‘short wait’ for a long time . It was funny watching MrModi whoop it up in a FOB accent, but sometimes the ABCD accent would break through. Liked the dude’s role, but the names – ugh. ‘Specially the hot indian babe – what was that? somethin Nizamabad. More power to Kal. Muff-diving, yay !!
A N N A on December 5, 2005 at 12:56 am said:

i thought NLVW was an adorable movie, and that’s not just b/c i’m a huge ryan reynolds fan. sure the accent was excessive (though it was the unintelligible names for cities and people that actually annoyed me) but i didn’t find the movie mean-spirited. taj is a hottie, this is such good news. 😉
Pablo on December 5, 2005 at 6:26 am said:

Desi American coming to the UK to teach Brits how to party? What the fuck?

No doubt, no Desi Crew’s or bhangra boys or sexy funky British Desi’s will be featured in one of these kooky comedies about, like, Americans coming to YooRup and, like, partying out dude.

Clueless.
The Desi Nole on December 5, 2005 at 9:13 am said:

That is good news for Kal. Does anyone have any clue about Harold and Kumar Go To Amsterdam ?

And about Superman … good one.
oz on December 5, 2005 at 12:09 pm said:

Irrespective of the typical stereotyped desi flavor in Van Wilder, I actually enjoyed the ‘Taj’ express zipping in and out through the movie. If they can just keep the gags on this side of the stupidity-border – Van Wilder II may turn out to be a fun ride.
Bong Breaker on December 5, 2005 at 2:12 pm said:

True dat Pablo! Desis in the UK need no help from anyone when it comes to partying!

BUT of course this movie isn’t going to be about DESIS partying, just students in general. I am cringing at the very thought of this – I know they’ll portray Oxford as some Etonian fantasy land of princes and toffs, when in reality it’s pished bridge-jumpers and townies.

Oxford needs severe help when it comes to partying, not because they’re posh or anything, just cos Oxford’s a boring dive. But hey, at least it’s not Cambridge shudder.

Anyway, I think Kal Penn’s cool, so party on!
jungleboi on December 5, 2005 at 4:26 pm said:

The odd thing here is the Van Wilder sequel could take the wind of a Harold and Kumar sequel. Same actor involved, same location, same type of audience etc. Ryan Reynolds propbably passed on the Van Wilder sequel as he probably sees himself getting bigger and bigger over the next year (he has a lot coming out) and will getting into big budget action etc. Good news for Kal — finally getting paid well and a chance to show an Indian lead can carry a film. Which is priority no. 1
JockGeorge on May 3, 2006 at 3:02 pm said:

Awesome. An asians moving up in the hollywood business. Lets just hope its not a corny flop.

Ive been up to oxford visiting mates, and believe me theres about 10 brown people in the uni altogether, and about 80% of them no nothing about any culture in india – coconuts.

Itll be funny to see if they show it this way in the movie, or even if they show us brownies at all.