Kumar Pallana

Kumar Valavhadas Pallana (23 December 1918 – 10 October 2013) was an Indian American character actor and vaudevillian.[1] He performed on the Mickey Mouse Club as a plate spinner and juggler.[2]

Kumar Pallana
Kumar Pallana in 2006
Born
Kumar Valavhadas Pallana

(1918-12-23)23 December 1918
Indore, Indore State, Central India Agency, British India
(present-day Madhya Pradesh, India)
Died10 October 2013(2013-10-10) (aged 94)
Oakland, California, U.S.
OccupationActor, vaudevillian
Years active1952–2013

Biography

Kumar Pallana was born in Indore, then in British India, the third of nine children of a prosperous automobile dealer. He dreamed of a performing career as a boy, although his parents discouraged this in favor of more "respectable" pursuits. In 1931, his older brother, who was active in the Indian independence movement, was arrested by the British and imprisoned for several years. The British authorities seized his family home and the family's economic situation drastically worsened. He left school at age 13 and left home for Bombay to pursue his dream of being a Bollywood star. He had presumed he could become an actor simply by walking through the studio gates, but was repeatedly turned away because of his age. He then moved to Calcutta where he trained as an acrobat, and was an itinerant performer for the next few years, traveling India by foot and bicycle. After his older brother's release from prison, Pallana joined him in Africa, performing across the continent. Pallana moved to the United States in 1946 and spent 20 years performing around the country before settling down in Texas at his wife's insistence. He subsequently started a yoga studio.[3]

Pallana was married to Ranjana Jethwa and had two children, son Dipak and daughter Sandhya. His son Dipak created, owned and operated a cafe called the Cosmic Cup (now Cosmic Cafe) in Dallas, where Kumar met director Wes Anderson and actor Owen Wilson. Anderson subsequently cast Pallana in his films Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums and The Darjeeling Limited. Pallana also appeared in the Bollywood movie Anjaana Anjaani (2010) and the acclaimed independent film Another Earth (2011). A short documentary, KUMAR:MKE, about Pallana's connection to the Milwaukee film scene, was released in 2015.[4]

Pallana died on 10 October 2013 at his home in California at age 94.[3]

Pallana's daughter Sandhya Pallana worked with him on The Terminal and other productions. His son Dipak, also an actor, appeared in films such as Bottle Rocket, Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums.[3]

Filmography
YearTitleRoleNotes
1952Viva Zapata!SoldierUncredited
1996Bottle RocketKumar
1998RushmoreMr. Littlejeans
2001The Royal TenenbaumsPagoda
2002Bomb the SystemKumar Baba
2003DuplexIndian Restaurant Owner
2004The TerminalGupta Rajan
2005Romance & CigarettesDa Da Kumar
2006The Gold BraceletDhinubhai
2006RevoLOUtionKumar
200610 Items or LessLee
2007The Darjeeling LimitedOld man on train
2009Karma Aur HoliDJ Rav
2009Today's SpecialShah
2010Anjaana AnjaaniCoast guard
2011Another EarthPurdeep
2011Hollywood WhoresMagic Man
2011Campus RadioYogi
2012Heavy HandsThe Clerk
2014Hamlet A.D.D.KumarPosthumous
2019Black LicoriceKumarPosthumous;
Final film role

References
  1. Modell, Josh. "R.I.P. Kumar Pallana, star of several Wes Anderson movies". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
  2. Profile at OriginalMMC.com
  3. Fox, Margalit (16 October 2013). "Kumar Pallana, Who Went From Yoga to Film, Dies at 94". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  4. Wild, Matt (December 2015). "Watch a short film about Kumar Pallana and his unlikely ties to the Milwaukee film scene". The Milwaukee Record. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
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