Apu Nahasapeemapetilon
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| The Simpsons character | |
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| Apu Nahasapeemapetilon | |
| Gender | Male |
|---|---|
| Job | Owner of the Kwik-e-Mart |
| Relatives | Wife: Manjula Father: Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Sr. Mother: Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilon Sons: Anoop, Nabendu, Sandeep and Gheet Daughters: Uma, Poonam, Priya, Sashi Brother: Sanjay Niece: Paschueta Nephew: Jamshed Cousin: Kavi |
| Voice actor | Hank Azaria |
| First appearance | |
| The Simpsons | "The Telltale Head" |
Apu Nahasapeemapetilon is a recurring character on the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Hank Azaria, and first appeared in the episode "The Telltale Head". Apu is the proprietor at the Kwik-E-Mart, a popular convenience store in Springfield. For a long time, the Kwik-E-Mart was Apu's sole purpose in life. This started to change when Apu got married and had eight children.
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[edit] Role in The Simpsons
[edit] Personality
Apu is proprietor of the Kwik-E-Mart, a local convenience store. An immigrant from India who arrived in 1978, he is, like many Simpsons characters, a caricature of a common stereotype – in his case, the stereotype of the Indian convenience store owner. His most defining characteristics are his Indian English and his indefatigable immigrant work ethic. His catchphrase is "Thank you, come again!" — cheerfully and dutifully repeated to customers (no matter how unpleasant) after each transaction, even after the store has been robbed or he has ejected unwanted customers. Apu is a strict vegan, and sells many vegan foods at his store.[1] He has also been shot and robbed many times,[2] often by Snake Jailbird. As the proprietor of the Kwik-E-Mart, Apu charges high prices for low-quality products which are often past their shelf life or otherwise unfit to consume. Apu seems to be the only person to know about the quality of the food, as he refuses to eat it, even when trapped inside the Kwik-E-Mart for 96 hours (near the end he thought he was a hummingbird).[2] Since the Kwik-E-Mart is open 24 hours and on holidays, and Apu is usually the only employee, it is important to him to never close and to never leave his shift. On the rare times the store has to close, signs are posted saying such things as "We’re never closed (except today)" or "Closed for the first time ever".[3]
[edit] Biography
Apu is a U.S. citizen and holds a Ph.D. in computer science. He graduated first in his class of seven million at 'Caltech' — Calcutta Technical Institute — going on to earn his doctorate at the Springfield Heights Institute of Technology. Apu began working at the Kwik-E-Mart during his college years to pay off his student loan but never left. He remained an illegal immigrant until Mayor Quimby proposed a municipal law to expel all undocumented aliens. Apu responded by purchasing a forged birth certificate from the Springfield Mafia that listed his parents as U.S. citizens Herb and Judy Nahasapeemapetilon, but when this failed, he successfully managed to pass his citizenship test with help from Lisa and Homer Simpson.[4] During the early 1980s, Apu was a member of the barbershop quartet The Be Sharps along with Homer Simpson, Barney Gumble, and Seymour Skinner. Upon the advice of the band manager Nigel, Apu took the stage name Apu du Beaumarchais (a reference to Beaumarchais, author of The Barber of Seville).[5]
[edit] Family
In the episode "The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons", Apu enjoys a brief period as Springfield's leading ladies' man after being spontaneously drawn into a bachelor auction. He spends the days following the auction on a whirlwind of dates. These come to a sudden halt when his mother announces it is time for his arranged marriage to a woman named Manjula, whom he had not seen in years. Apu tries to wriggle out of the arrangement at first but is won over when he meets Manjula face-to-face, and the two decide to give the marriage a try (Manjula notes nonchalantly that they can always get a divorce). Later the two actually do fall in love. In the episode "Eight Misbehavin'", Manjula receives too many doses of fertility drugs from herself, Apu, and the well-meaning, but unsynchronized, Simpsons. This leads to her giving birth to octuplets: Anoop, Uma, Nabendu, Poonam, Priya, Sandeep, Sashi and Gheet.
Apu and Manjula have a mostly happy marriage, despite understandable marital problems caused by Apu's workaholic nature and long hours, and the strain of caring for eight children. A further strain came up when Apu was unfaithful to Manjula, and one of his punishments was to legally change his name to Slime Q. Slimedog.[6] He and his family are devotees of the Hindu gods Shiva, Ganesha, and Vishnu.
Sanjay, Apu's brother, helps run the Kwik-E-Mart. Sanjay has a daughter named Pahasatira, and a son named Jamshed. They all share the Nahasapeemapetilon surname. Apu has another younger brother, who is only mentioned in "The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons". When Apu's and Manjula's parents were first arranging their marriage, Apu was shown on a chart as the oldest of three. Apu also has a cousin living in India named Kavi, who helped Homer while he was in India. He works for several American companies taking service calls using American, cowboy, and Jamaican accents.[7] Also, in the beginning of the opening sequence, Apu is shown to have a small dog on a leash.
[edit] Character
[edit] Creation
Apu's first name is an homage to the main character in the Apu trilogy directed by Satyajit Ray.[8] His surname is Nahasapeemapetilon (pronounced Nah-HAHS-ah-PEEMA-pet-uh-lin), and it was first used in the episode "A Streetcar Named Marge". It is a morphophonological blend of the name Pahasadee Napetilon, the full name of a schoolmate of Simpsons writer Jeff Martin.[9] Originally, Apu being Indian was thought to be too offensive and stereotypical and was going to be changed, but Hank Azaria's reading of the line "Hello, Mr. Homer" received a huge laugh from the writers, so the concept stayed.[8] He took Apu's voice from the many Indian convenience store workers in Los Angeles that he had interacted with when he first moved to the area. He also loosely based it on Peter Sellers' character Hrundi V Bakshi from the film The Party, who Azaria thinks has a similar personality to Apu.[10]
[edit] References
- ^ "Lisa the Vegetarian". Cohen, David; Kirkland, Mark. The Simpsons. Fox. 1995-10-15.
- ^ a b "Homer and Apu". Daniels, Greg; Kirkland, Mark. The Simpsons. Fox. 1994-02-10.
- ^ "22 Short Films About Springfield". Daniels, Greg; Reardon, Jim. The Simpsons. Fox. 1996-04-14.
- ^ "Much Apu About Nothing". Cohen, David S.; Dietter, Susie. The Simpsons. Fox. 1996-05-05.
- ^ "Homer's Barbershop Quartet". Martin, Jeff; Kirkland, Mark. The Simpsons. Fox. 1993-09-30.
- ^ "The Sweetest Apu". Swartzwelder, John; Nastuk, Matthew. The Simpsons. Fox. 2002-05-05.
- ^ "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bangalore". Castallaneta, Dan; Lacusta, Deb; Kirkland, Mark. The Simpsons. Fox. 2006-04-09.
- ^ a b Joe Rhodes. "Flash! 24 Simpsons Stars Reveal Themselves", TV Guide, 2000-10-21. Retrieved on 2007-08-15.
- ^ Martin, Jeff. (2004). The Simpsons season 4 DVD commentary for the episode "A Streetcar Named Marge" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
- ^ Azaria, Hank. Interview with Terry Gross. Fresh Air. National Public Radio. WHYY Philadelphia. 2004-12-06. Retrieved on 2007-08-15.
[edit] External links
- Apu's profile at TheSimpsons.com
- Apu Nahasapeemapetilon at the Internet Movie Database
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