Blog From A Famous Person - April 2009

Blog from a Famous Person

Monday, 20th April

It’s Sunday night and I’m blogging. It only took me two weeks to throw out the “I’m going to blog every Sunday rule” so I’ve decided to make this blog super awesome, and I hope you have time to read it all the way through. So a couple months ago I was trying to get Kal Penn to do a cameo in our movie, Bobby Khan’s Ticket To Hollywood. (Which by the way is coming out great, and you should check it out when we release.) Also, before you read any further, this blog is not a dis on Kal Penn who couldn’t be a nicer guy. He’s cleared a path for people like me, and we at RaisingDesi wish him the best of luck with his new job at the White House. Continue reading… Anyway, so I’m sending Kal e-mails. I mail him the script and stuff, and it’s not really going anywhere, and we’re about to give up. Now as some of you may know, I perform stand-up every Monday/Thursday in Westwood which has a karaoke room next door. So one Monday at about 12:00 am who do I bump into? Kal Penn! He’s just chilling with his boys. It’s a freak coincidence. Naturally, I bring up the movie and ask what’s going on. Kal’s like “I haven’t read the stuff yet” which is fine because he’s a busy guy, and I didn’t think anything of it. This town is all about putting yourself out there, and I would have kicked myself later if I didn’t ask. However, one of our Raising Desi employees happened to be with me. We’re walking outside and he’s like “wow, what a d***! How could he not read it?! You sent it two months ago!” I politely explained to my friend that Kal is on a network TV show and he probably has people pitching him stupid s*** all the time, and he probably thinks this isn’t any different. What surprised me about the situation was how quick my friend was to judge Kal after a two minute encounter. Trust me. I’ve met lousy people in showbiz and Kal Penn is a straight shooter. Cut to two weeks later. My friend Tony Kundu, who could possibly be the best South Asian house dancer in the world (look him up on youtube) e-mails me from Canada. He’s like “Hey, my friend is coming to LA. Can you meet with her? I don’t think she knows anybody.” I am a nice guy, just ask my mom. I hate Hollywood BS, and I look out for my friends, and even friends of friends. I also work my a** off and rarely hang out just for the sake of killing time. But I go because it is a favor asked of me. The meeting goes ok, and I tell my new friend about LA and the next day, I even ask if she wants to roll with me and my comic friends to a few comedy clubs. The next week I run into another mutual friend that knows the girl who I just met with. The first words out of her mouth are “What did you say to her?!” “Excuse me?” “She thinks you’re arrogant and completely full of it!” Apparently, in her make-believe world , I started the conversation by saying, “Hi, I’m Tarun Shetty and I’m famous.” And then couldn’t stop talking about myself. Although in retrospect, the line is hilarious and I wish I did say it, this is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. Then it hit me. Her same pre-conceived attitude towards me is a lot like the attitude my friend had towards Kal Penn. I’m not saying I’m famous. In fact, I’m far from it. One time I sold out a comedy show in Virginia only because people mistook me for M Knight Shyamalan. But as I’m finding out, no matter what I do and no matter how many fans I have there will always be someone ready to shoot me down. What sucks is that people form opinions about someone and then share their thoughts with others, forcing that person to write a blog that is read by ten million people. My point is whether the words are good or bad, it’s a good reminder to myself and everybody reading, that only you can determine your self-worth, nobody else. Luckily, my self-worth makes me famous. I guess that must make me pretty awesome. Peace out. --tarun