Difference between revisions of "Apu Nahasapeemapetilon"

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"Thank You Come Again!" -Apu's catch phrase

Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Ph.D. (legally named Slime Q Slimedog) is a character (voiced by Hank Azaria, based on Peter Sellers' character in The Party). He is the proprietor of the Kwik-E-Mart, the local convenience store.

Creation

An immigrant from India, he is, like most Simpsons characters, a caricature of a common stereotype—in his case, that of the South Asian convenience-store owner. His most defining characteristics are his exaggerated Indian English, his devotion to the Hindu god Ganesha, 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. His first name is an homage to the main character in the "Apu Trilogy" directed by Satyajit Ray. His surname, Nahasapeemapetilon, is a spoonerism of the name Pahasaneemapetilon, the surname of a schoolmate of Simpsons writer Jeff Martin.

Biography

Childhood

During the 1960s, while still living in India, Apu spent some time as a student of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, in which capacity he became a friend of Paul McCartney and Linda McCartney. Apu's friendship with the McCartneys caused him to be referred to by some (mainly himself) as "The Fifth Beatle". They visited Apu in Springfield around the time he became naturalized.

Before Marriage

During the early 1980s Apu was a member of the barbershop quartet in Homer's Barbershop Quartet called The Be Sharps, which also consisted of Homer Simpson, Barney Gumble and Seymour Skinner. Upon the advice of Nigel, the band manager, Apu took the stage name Apu du Beaumarchais (a pun, as "du beau marché" means "of the beautiful market" in French) and denied that he was actually Hindu.

Marriage

Apu and Manjula were wed through an arranged marriage. Despite trying to wriggle out of the arrangement at first, Apu was won over soon after meeting Manjula and the two actually did fall in love. Later, Manjula gave birth (in the episode "Eight Misbehavin'") to the amazing number of eight children after receiving a larger-than-recommended dose of fertility drugs. Apu and Manjula have a mostly happy marriage, despite understandable marital problems caused by Apu's workaholic nature (he seems to be at his post around the clock), the strain of caring for eight children, and two instances of infidelity by Apu. He and his family are devotees of the Hindu gods Shiva, Ganesha, and Vishnu. At Apu's wedding, Homer, in a misguided attempt to play on the bride and groom's families' fear of the gods, arrived dressed as the Hindu god Ganesh. The impersonation was seen through by one of Apu's relatives and failed miserably. Before his marriage, Apu became known as the leading ladies' man in Springfield, because he holds a Ph.D. and runs his own business. He also admitted, "I'm not much of a talker, but I love to listen. I also like to design and build furniture and then to have a discussion about where it could be placed in a room," which made the single women of Springfield go crazy for him. He likes to work in the Kwik-E-Mart.

Other Info

Heritage

In addition to being Brahmins, Apu and Manjula appear to be Tamil because of their last names and especially dark complexions; however, Apu has also been shown to be Bengali, which would be consistent with the title of Apu's sketch in the episode "22 Short Films About Springfield", "The Jolly Bengali". However, in one episode, Manjula speaks Hindi (interpreted as "baby talk" by Marge), to Maggie, as opposed to Tamil or Bengali, further complicating the matter. Still, Apu's parents in the episodes "Much Apu About Nothing" and "The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons" very strongly appear to be Tamil. The episode "Kiss Kiss Bang Bangalore" features a relative of Apu, Kavi, who lives in Bangalore, which is part of Karnataka, South India; this would suggest that they are actually Kannadigas.

Immigrant Status

Apu is a naturalized U.S. citizen and holds a Ph.D. in computer science. He graduated first in his class of seven million at 'Caltech'—the Calcutta Institute of Technology—going on to earn his doctorate at the (S)pringfield (H)eights (I)nstitute of (T)echnology. His doctoral dissertation was the world's first computer program to play perfect tic-tac-toe (Bart Simpson ruined it years later by plucking a random punch card out of the box along with several others while commenting, "Hey, what's this one do?" Apu promptly pitched it into the trash). Apu began working at the Kwik-E-Mart during his college years to help pay off his student loan but never left. He remained an illegal immigrant until Mayor Quimby proposed a municipal law to expel all undocumented immigrants, at which point Apu, with help from Lisa Simpson, successfully passed his citizenship test.

Extended Family

Sanjay, Apu's brother, helps him run the Kwik-E-Mart. Sanjay's daughter (and Apu's niece) is Pahusacheta. Sanjay's son is Jamshed. They all share the Nahasapeemapetilon surname. Apu has another younger brother, who is only mentioned in the episode of his marriage. When Apu's and Manjula's parents were first arranging their marriage, Apu was shown as the oldest of three on a chart. Apu also has a cousin living in India named Kavi, who helped Homer while he was in India. He works for many American companies taking service calls and can speak with American, Western, and Jamaican accents. Kavi appeared in the episode "Kiss Kiss Bang Bangalore". This episode, seeing that it takes place in Bangalore, strengthens the theory that Apu is South Indian.

Video Games

Apu is the only non-Simpson family playable character in the video game The Simpsons Hit & Run, and his standard vehicle is a yellow version of his Pontiac Trans Am called "Longhorn". He appears walkin around Springfield in The Simpsons Game but is a non-playable character.

External links

• Much Apu About Nothing: Article about the portrayal of Indians and other minorities on The Simpsons