Character Spotlight: Taj Badalandabad

Posted by RJ Licata | October 11, 2010

As a followup to last week’s post about the real value of a college degree, I wanted to offer up an example of someone who completely understands my point.

Enter Taj Mahal Badalandabad.

You probably know him from the 2002 hit movie Van Wilder, about a super-popular college student who has so much fun at school he refuses to graduate. Taj is Van’s wide-eyed assistant, who applied for the job because he wants to “cut loose and shake (his) rump”. I don’t know about you, but that’s exactly why I went to college.

Seriously, though, Taj is a student from India, who is really only looking for one thing – to completely indulge himself in the American college lifestyle. And if you’re going to do that, who better to learn from than Van Wilder, the seventh year senior who is all extra and little curricular.

Van is the college student that every adolescent male dreams of being, and Taj is there to sort through the mess. If anyone deserves to cut loose it’s Taj, who by nature is tighter than Joan Rivers’ face. He knows that, so he relies on Van to help push him over the edge, which Van happily agrees to do.

Taj understands that there is only a short amount of time to enjoy anything and that college goes fast (unless you’re Van). He also gets the point that college is mostly about what’s in the experience and less about what’s in the textbooks.

After graduation Taj moved to England and went to the fictional Camford University, where he taught an uptight coed how to enjoy her college experience. Apparently all this can be seen in the sequel, Van Wilder 2 – The Rise of Taj. It could be a good movie – I don’t know because I haven’t had two hours to waste.

Actually, the plot summary for this movie sounds like it might be ok. You watch it and let me know.

The point with all this is to give Taj Badalandabad his due. The young man was wise beyond his years. He came to America looking for the best college experience possible, teamed up with the most qualified mentor ever, and became a dedicated understudy. Then, when the time was right, he brought his talents to England where he became the king of campus and finally got the girl.

Taj is the classic collegiate success story, and the fact that he did it with little foreknowledge of American culture is a true testament to his incomparable determination. He is a legend in his own right.

The next time you’re cruising through India – if you evercruise through India – keep your eyes and ears open. If you do, there’s a good chance you’ll hear (President) Taj Badalandabad offering his assistants some invaluable piece of advice and suggesting that they “write that down”.

Well done, Taj. You’re an inspiration to us all. Van would be proud.