You might recall my interview with Kal Parekh about The Spectacular Jihad of Taz Rahim a few weeks ago. As I’d written in that post, that wasn’t the first time I’d interviewed Parekh; years ago, I interviewed him about his role on ABC’s jet-set show Pan Am, which really played with my emotions, as you can see in this archived set of recaps I wrote for my old site, Moniqueblog. In those recaps, you can also see where I highlighted the moments featuring Sanjeev (or as I used to call him, The ‘Jeev). Those moments were what got me in contact with Parekh (I also landed a spot on the podcast The Secrets of Pan Am led by SQPN’s Fr. Roderick, which was pretty cool).

Anyways, I’m writing all of this to set up this interview way back from 2011 or 2012 or somesuch, when I got to pick Parekh’s brain about playing Sanjeev, what he thought Sanjeev might be dealing with in the 1960s, and what he hoped would happen with Sanjeev if the show made it to a second season.

If you had read my past Moniqueblog recaps of Pan Am (which are still available on the Internet Archive), then you might remember how much I loved Kal Parekh’s co-pilot character Sanjeev, or “The ‘Jeev,” as I called him.

I was able to speak with him back then about his role on the show, and now I’m happy to say I was able to speak with him many years later about his role in a new film, The Spectacular Jihad of Taz Rahim.

The film, based on real experiences, tells the story of a Muslim informant hired by the New York Police Department’s intelligence unit to provide information (bated or otherwise) on terrorist activity. Parekh plays Det. Nick Patel, whose intent on meeting his goals could prove to be detrimental.

Read below to learn more about Parekh’s character, as well as more about the film, working with the cast, and how the film tackles the subject of Muslim stereotyping. The Spectacular Jihad of Taz Rahim comes to AMC theaters in Times Square in NY May 29.

Tag Archives: The Spectacular Jihad of Taz Rahim

Interview Rewind: Kal Parekh ("Pan Am")

Exclusive Interview: Kal Parekh ("The Spectacular Jihad of Taz Rahim”)