What South Asian Americans lost when Apu was silenced

“Bring Back Apu” is a new comedy special from Akaash Singh, the 38-year-old Indian American comedian who wants “The Simpsons” to revive the Springfield Kwik-E-Mart owner. For nearly three decades, Apu was voiced by the white comedian Hank Azaria — until a backlash forced Azaria to give up the role.

In the 2017 documentary, “The Problem with Apu,” South Asian American comedians Kal Penn, Aziz Ansari, Aasif Mandvi, and Hasan Minhaj famously spoke of the ways Apu’s character was weaponized to bully them when they were children. So why does

Singh want to bring back a character that has caused so much harm?

Singh says the cancellation of Apu was an “overcorrection.” He is tired of flat, trite and one-dimensional South Asian characters in media and entertainment. And so am I.

When I watched “The Simpsons” growing up as an Afghan immigrant still learning about American culture, Apu always struck me as funny, but not vicious. He was also one of the few characters to have a real arc. Over the years, I saw him become more than just the onenote Kwik-E-Mart owner — he was an entrepreneur, a father to octuplets, and even had a doctorate. Also, Azaria’s voice, though put on, invoked true empathy during emotional storylines, like when Apu loses his store and faces deportation. Apu’s words may have been coming out of the mouth of a white man, but his story said something about the human condition that Springfield’s more clownish characters could not.

So, I found myself wondering if Apu was the right target. Should we be ashamed of Apu himself? As Singh points out in his debut standup special, much of the criticism around Apu relies largely on how white people have accepted or interpreted Apu.

Take the anger around Apu’s accent. What is driving it? Is it