UNITED KINGDOM, November 6, 2017 (BBC by Christian Blauvelt): The comedian Hari Kondabolu is trying to wake up TV viewers to how generally accepted the questionable portrayal of the Simpsons’ character, Apu, has been. “After a while, you’d watch The Simpsons on a Sunday and you’d get a sense of how you’d be made fun of at school on Monday, based on what Apu did in the latest episode.” Kondabolu doesn’t mince words about the impact the character on the long-running animation had on his own life. “Kids in the playground would always mimic the accent and say ‘Thank you, come again!’ or ‘Hello, Mr. Homer!'” the Indian-American comedian tells BBC Culture. “Sure, growing up in New York City everyone tries to be funny. If you grow up there you learn to make jokes and how to make comebacks, but it’s hard to counter an accent – what’s your comeback for an accent?”
For years Apu Nahasapeemapetilon was the only person of South Asian descent depicted on US TV at all – a problem because he is a broad stereotype whose clownishness is his singular purpose. He exists to provoke a laugh. He is a cartoon literally and figuratively. What’s especially troubling about Apu as a stereotype is that, until recently, very few viewers in the US outside of the Indian-American community have addressed, talked about, or even recognised that Apu is a stereotype. In order to highlight the issue, Kondabolu became the mastermind – and star – of a new film, The Problem With Apu, directed by Michael Melamedoff, which will broadcast on 19 November on the US television channel TruTV.
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