For nearly the last decade, the character of Apu Nahasapeemapetilon has been silent on The Simpsons. Now, however, according to Variety the character has returned to the show — with a new voice actor.
Formerly voiced by Hank Azaria (The Birdcage, Friends), the voice actor retired from voicing the role due to The Problem With Apu, a documentary by Hari Kondabolu that dissected the character as a South Asian stereotype. Azaria announced that he would retire from the role before apologizing for his part in voicing him, and the last time Apu had a speaking role was back in 2017. The character did, however, make sporadic appearances as a nonspeaking background character.
Now, Indian-American actor Sunil Malhotra (Grey’s Anatomy, The Legend of Korra) has taken over the role from Azaria. The actor spoke about taking on the role, stating, “My callback was the first of many times that no one at The Simpsons let me down. I told casting that I’d only consider an offer if I could meet showrunner Matt Selman and co-executive producer Cesar Mazariegos, both of whom gladly did so. It was the beginning of a deeply collaborative experience that I hope 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.”
The character returned in an episode called “Treehouse of Horror Presents: The Revengening”. In the episode, the people of Springfield continuously kill a man in a “Daft Monk” costume. only for the character to be revealed as Apu, who chastises the citizens of Springfield for having forgotten him. The people of Springfield apologize and Apu accepts, before waking up, revealing the ordeal to have been a nightmare.
The episode also features a recast of Apu’s wife, Manjula, who used to be voiced by the late Jan Hooks (Saturday Night Live, Coneheads) and then Tress MacNeille (Chip N’ Dale Rescue Rangers, Futurama). Moving forward, the character will now be voiced by Janina Gavankar (The Morning Show, Borderlands). Gavankar and Malhotra made a joint announcement on their Instagrams celebrating the change.