APU NAHASAPEEMAPETILON, the south Asian character on The Simpsons, is now voiced by actor and veteran voice artist Sunil Malhotra.
The character, who has faced criticism for perpetuating stereotypes of the south Asian community, had not been heard since the October 2017 episode titled ‘The Serfsons’.
His return was a closely guarded secret among those working on the show, Variety reported. In last Sunday’s (18) episode, Janina Gavankar voiced Apu’s wife, Manjula.
Executive producer Matt Selman said both characters and the rest of Apu’s family would appear more frequently on The Simpsons.
“We love this character, and wanted to bring him back in a smart, ‘Simpsons’-y way that allowed him to evolve,” Selman said. “We’re excited by what Sunil has already brought to the role, and look forward to seeing more of Apu in the future.”
Apu was previously voiced by Hank Azaria, but the character’s portrayal as a stereotypical south Asian convenience store clerk had drawn criticism over the years.
Apu’s portrayal was at the centre of the 2017 documentary The Problem With Apu, in which comedian Hari Kondabolu spoke about how he was bullied because of the impact the character had in creating a certain perception around south Asians.
Actor Kal Penn had also criticized the portrayal.
Following the backlash, Azaria announced that he would no longer voice Apu.“I apologize for my part in creating that and participating in that,” Azaria said in 2021 on Dax Shepard’s podcast Armchair Expert.
“Part of me feels like I need to go to every single Indian person in this country and personally apologize. And sometimes I do,” he said.
