Kal Penn Wants a 'Gigantic Indian Wedding' — and Also to Protect His Husband-to-Be's Privacy

The actor and You Can't Be Serious author says he and his fiancé currently have two different ideas for how they'd like to celebrate their big day

Kal Penn is a busy man. In addition to the press schedule and book tour for his new memoir, You Can't Be Serious, and getting ready to begin filming the new horror movie Something's Wrong with Rose, Penn will also be planning a wedding.

Penn, 44, who reveals in the book that he's engaged to fiancé Josh, his partner of 11 years, tells PEOPLE in this week's issue that they currently have two different ideas for how they'd like to celebrate their nuptials.

"The pandemic made a lot of the wedding conversations go on pause. We're both very understated about all of the pomp and circumstance stuff," Penn says. "The big disagreement now is whether it's a huge wedding or a tiny wedding. I want the big-ass Indian wedding. Josh hates attention and [has said] 'Or, we could just do quick 20-minute thing with our families and that's it.' So we have to meet halfway in the middle."

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Another important element for Penn is protecting the privacy of Josh and his family, all of whom are not public figures.

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Penn, who shares in his book the sweet story of how he and Josh met and fell in love, says that he wanted to make sure he was being truthful in a way that also felt right for his loved ones.

Kal Penn and Josh. James Devaney/Getty Images

"Figuring out the narrative [in the book] of how to respect who they really are with telling my story — that includes: my work life, both in Hollywood and D.C., it includes my love life with Josh and how we met, it includes my parents, to the extent that I'm willing to share stories about their upbringing," he says. "So that was the most important thing for me. I wanted my story to be authentic from my perspective and told in a way that makes you feel like you really get to know me."

Miranda Barnes/The New York Times/Redux

The actor hopes readers feel like they've gotten to know a new or different side to Penn.

"The whole point of writing this book was for the reader to feel like we're having a beer together. I thought, if we're supposed to feel like we're having a beer together, then I want to take you into my stories and I want you to experience them with the same joy that I've experienced them. That was the way that my friends have met my parents and Josh, as they've gotten to know them over the last 10 years."

In the meantime, Penn and Josh will continue their planning, privately, which may or may not already be invading the author's subconscious, per a recent Tweet in which he dreamt that Cardi B officiated his wedding. (She offered to make it happen — and Penn agreed.)

Penn also says that no matter the current planning efforts, his closest friends, family and other invited guests might get last-minute invites.

"Even if I win and get our gigantic Indian wedding, I guarantee you we'd still be the dummies that are like [to our invited guests], 'Hey, we're getting married in two weeks. You guys want to come?'"

Penn's book You Can't Be Serious is out now.