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. 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.

Apu's family and background

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

When Apu was unfaithful to Manjula, one of his punishments was to legally change his name to "Slime Q Slimedog". However, everyone still knows him as Apu.

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.

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".

Kwik-E-Mart

The Kwik-E-Mart chain was started somewhere in the Himalayas, where the world's first convenience store still stands on a mountain peak (even though it's not a very convenient location). Visiting pilgrims are allowed to ask three questions of the resident guru. Apu's visit was rather spoiled by Homer's three questions, "Are you really the founder of Kwik-E-Mart?", "Really?" and "You?".

Apu was fired from his job after Homer was poisoned by tainted meat he bought at the Kwik-E-Mart. He was replaced by James Woods, who was studying to be a convenience store clerk for a role in an upcoming movie. Apu was re-hired a short time later after he foiled a robbery attempt at the Kwik-E-Mart and saved James Woods' life. Apu was shot during the attempted robbery. Later it was retconned that Apu owned the Kwik-E-Mart.

Apu is known as a legend in the realm of Kwik-E-Mart employment for working for over ninety-six hours in one shift. During the shift he experienced a hallucination in which he thought he was a hummingbird and tried to drink nectar out of Sanjay's head.

Despite generally being a good-natured and friendly individual, Apu often exhibits a ruthlessly capitalist streak. Homer once complained (during one of the many armed robberies at the store) that Apu should indeed be shot for pricing his wares so extravagantly. He has also been seen to hug his cigarette machine in gratitude for it failing to dispense product after taking a customer's money.

After the town of Springfield fined Mr. Burns $3 million for illegally dumping toxic waste, a town meeting washeld to discuss how to spend it. Apu suggested spending some of it on hiring more police officers, as he had been shot eight times that year and nearly missed work. Chief Wiggum responded, "Crybaby."

He is the coach of the Kwik-E-Mart Gougers Peewee Hockey League Team.

A few real-life retailers have attempted to capitalize on the Kwik-E-Mart name. For instance, there is a chain of "Kuik-E-Mart" stores in Minnesota.

Episodes Starring Apu

This is a list of Simpsons episodes in which Apu plays a substantial role in driving the plot, not simply a supporting role.

• Homer and Apu (Season 5, Episode 13) Homer tries to make amends after costing Apu his livelihood.
• Much Apu About Nothing (Season 7, Episode 18) Apu is threatened with deportation.
• The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons (Season 9, Episode 7) Apu's arranged marriage finally comes to pass.
• I'm With Cupid (Season 10, Episode 14) Apu's extravagant romancing makes the town's other wives jealous.
• Eight Misbehavin' (Season 11, Episode 7) Apu becomes the harried father of octuplets.
• The Sweetest Apu (Season 13, Episode 19) Apu is caught in an affair.

Apu also plays a significant supporting role in:

• Marge in Chains (Season 4, Episode 21) Marge gets caught shoplifting the Kwik-E-Mart
• Homer's Barbershop Quartet (Season 5, Episode 1) Apu is a part of Homer's barbershop quartet
• Team Homer (Season 7, Episode 12) Apu is a part of Homer's bowling team
• Crook and Ladder (Season 18, Episode 19) Apu is one of the volunteer firefighters

Trivia

• When Springfield Came overly patriotic and took the name "Liberty-Ville" (in the episode "Bart-Mangled Banner"), Apu quickly caught on. He renamed his kids Lincoln, Freedom, Condoleezza, Coke, Pepsi, Manifest Destiny, Apple Pie, and Superman.
• The media attention and subsequent shower of donations at the birth of the Nahasapeemapetilon octuplets are a parody of the McCaughey septuplets.
• Apu has been shot numerous times. He may have been shot eight times in 1993 (after which he claimed he could survive any caliber up to 9mm), and as a result he almost missed work. In fact, Apu has been shot so many times that the punishment for shooting him is now just a $100 fine. Other Simpsons media made the (likely untrue) claim that the bullet removed from Mr Burns was the first piece of ammunition removed from someone other than Apu.
• Apu is a Vegan, and the hot dogs sold in the Kwik-E-Mart are actually tofu dogs.
• When Apu is shot and killed in "Treehouse of Horror XVI", he is immediately reincarnated as a rabbit, before being killed again. In "The Sweetest Apu", before he attempts suicide, he looks at a tapestry depicting his past path of reincarnation, passing from a tiger to a snake to a clod (with a picture of Alfred E. Newman) to a goat with a hat before his current life, and projecting that his next life will be as a tapeworm, and the one after that as assistant to Lorne Michaels.
• Before marrying Manjula, Apu had some kind of relationship with Princess Kashmir.
• Apu wears a wig. This fact was revealed in the Deleted Scenes feature on one of the four Season 5 DVD's when Bart, sleeping in Lisa's room when Apu stays with the Simpsons, teases Lisa with Apu's wig.

Quotations

• "Thank you, come again!" (his catchphrase)
• "One 29 cent stamp? That'll be $1.89."
• Reporter: "Apu, is it true that you're a Hindu?"
  Apu: "By the many arms of Vishnu, I swear it is a lie!"
• [To Homer dressed like Krusty the Klown] "How could I charge full price to the man whose lust for pornographic magazines kept me in business for that shaky first year. By the way, I just received this month's issue of Gigantic Asses.*
• [To Immigration Clerk] "Now which way to the welfare office? I'm kidding! I'm kidding! I work! I work!"
• [After yet another shooting] "Oh, the searing kiss of hot lead. How I've missed you! I mean – I think I'm dying."
• [To Homer, offering a peanut to an elephantine figure of Ganesha on an altar in Apu's store] "Please do not offer my god a peanut!"
• [After being shot by Burns] "Ugh, you got me, but I shall be reincarnated." [He turns into a rabbit] "HAHA! You can't kill a Hindu!" [steps on a beartrap] "Ahh! Help me Jesus!"
• [To Marge] "You must always follow your dreams. Like my old dream of coming to America and starting a family... or my new dream, of ditching my family, and sneaking back to India in disguise!"
• [To Homer, who has placed various candies on a doughnut, hoping to pass them off as "sprinkles"] "A Mounds bar is not a sprinkle. A Twizzler is not a sprinkle. A Jolly Rancher is not a sprinkle, sir. Perhaps in Shangri-La they are, but not here."
• "Oh look. It's Mr. Homer, my favorite customer. Please feel free to flip through my Playdudes and eat my raw bacon and tell me to go back to some country I'm not actually from."
• "I did not come to this country illegally to see it mocked."
• (wielding a rifle on top of the Kwik-E-Mart) "Thank you for coming! I will see you in Hell!"
• [Marge places a tiny bottle of aspirin over the counter] Apu: "The aspirin is $24.95"
  Marge: "$24.95???"
  Apu: "I lowered the price because an escaped mental patient tampered with the bottle."
• Mel: "You only live once!"
  Apu: "Speak for yourself!"
• [To Patty and Selma, after they each purchased a pack of cigarettes] "Smoke them in good health!"
• "This is how you talk when you learn English from porno movies." [after Homer leaves when he learned that Marge wrote her book and mentioned she lusted for Ned Flanders]

The Simpsons:Hit & Run

In "The Simpsons Hit & Run" Apu is playable in the fifth level. Apu appears also in level 3, getting his foods back from Cletus(Ironically, in level 2, the player has to steal the foods from Apu).

External links

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