Fans of The Simpsons rejoice: Abu Nahasapeemapetilon has found his voice again.
It has been eight long years since the fan-favourite character has spoken during an episode of the hit animated series following criticism that the character, originally voiced by Hank Azaria, was a racist and stereotypical portrayal of Indian people.
In a surprise on Sunday night, American actor Sunil Malhotra, who moved to the US from India as a child, made his debut as Apu.
Malhotra’s appearance in “Treehouse of Horror Presents: The Revengening” was kept under wraps by The Simpsons producers, with non-disclosure agreements in place for the table read of the episode.
Malhotra was joined by another incoming voice actor Janina Gavankar (The Morning Show) who took on the character of Apu’s wife, Manjula – previously voiced by Jan Hooks and Tress MacNeille.
The two actors shared a joint Instagram post celebrating the return of Apu’s “homecoming” and declared it a “reclamation”.
“Bringing Apu back feels like a reclamation. It truly IS his homecoming,” wrote Malhotra, whose other credits include The Legend of Vox Machina and Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi.
Apu and the Nahasapeemapetilon family will appear in The Simpsons more frequently from now on, according to show bosses.
Viewer criticism of Apu’s portrayal gained widespread media attention in the mid-2010, and led to the release of a 2020 documentary titled The Problem with Apu by Indian American comedian Hari Kondabolu.
Following the documentary’s release, Azaria announced that he would no longer voice the character and later apologised for his part in creating the character.
“Part of me feels like I need to go to every single Indian person in this country and personally apologise,” he said on Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast. The character remained silent in subsequent episodes of the show following Azaria’s exit.
According to Variety, Malhotra had been hesitant to audition for the role of Apu.
“When my agent called me about a Simpsons audition, I knew exactly what role it was for, and the idea actually made my stomach sink,” he told the publication. “But admittedly, part of me was also curious. It had been eight years since Apu had spoken on the show, and it got me thinking: Did the writers’ room look different now?
“Could they bring him back in a way that acknowledged and apologized for past mistakes? Could I make the character my own, and reclaim him in some way? And could they achieve all of that in an unmistakably Simpsons way that didn’t disappoint fans?”
He insisted on a meeting with showrunner Matt Selman and co-executive producer Cesar Mazagriegos before accepting the part, and called the process of bringing Apu back a “deeply collaborative experience”.
“I hope [it] is equally satisfying for longtime fans of The Simpsons and for other South Asian kids who, like me, stopped watching at some point along the way,” he said.
Selman told Variety: “We love this character, and wanted to bring him back in a smart, ‘Simpsons-y’ way that allowed him to evolve.
We’re excited by what Sunil has already brought to the role, and look forward to seeing more of Apu in the future.”