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Beyond Apu: Indian Americans on Television
May 17, 2013  | By Monique Nazareth  | 18 comments
 

This week, as  I watched the season finales for New Girl, The Mindy Project and The Big Bang Theory, and followed the roll-out of the networks' new fall season schedules, I was reminded of a conversation I had with some friends in 1999.

“I never see anyone who reflects me,” I said.  “Come on, these Friends live in New York and there are no Indians around them? These E.R. doctors work in a hospital and have no Indian colleagues?”  

One of my friends responded with a grin: “There’s an Indian on TV: Apu!” He was referring to a character on The Simpsons, voiced by Caucasian actor Hank Azaria.

A wave of depression washed over me. My entire ethnic group was being represented on mainstream network television with one character — a cartoon character. Thankfully, things have changed — however slowly — over the past decade and a half.

Americans of Indian decent make up about 3.18 million or roughly one percent of the U.S. population. There is a whole generation of younger South Asian Americans who were born and have grown up in the U.S. And as the population has grown, we’ve seen South Asian actors appear on shows such as Glee, Parks and Recreation, The Good Wife, The Big Bang Theory and even Sesame Street.

Brandeis University professor Shilpa Davé, author of Indian Accents: Brown Voice and Racial Performance in American Television and Film, confirms that we are seeing more Indian Americans on television. Unfortunately, Davé adds, many shows have incorporated characters that are live-action variations of Apu.

She points to The Big Bang Theory's Rajesh Koothrappali, played by Kunal Nayyar, and Pakistani American actor Iqbal Theba's Principal Figgins (right) on Glee.

“A lot of the shows with Indian Americans are comedies," says Davé. "For a lot of people what’s funny is hearing that accent. It’s a part of this post-racial world — if you’re not going to talk about race, how do you show it in different ways? The idea of an accent is something associated with being Indian.“

Conforming to stereotype, Davé adds, makes the men more appealing and less threatening to non-Indian audiences, Consider Koothrappali on The Big Bang Theory. The character is a physicist and son of a wealthy doctor, and is unable to speak to women unless he’s drunk. His ethnicity is often used as a catalyst for humor. In one episode, his friend Sheldon describes him as “the loveable foreigner who struggles to understand our ways and fails.”   

An argument could be made that Koothrappali is a stereotype in a show with many stereotypes. Given that, Nayyar does a great job portraying his character as the outsider who fits in very well with his circle of scientist friends. (The Big Bang Theory's showrunners reportedly intended Koothrappali's character to be American-born, but that plan changed when British actor Nayyar (right, with co-star Kaley Cuoco) auditioned for the part.)

While a thick Indian accent is a used as a comic device for men, Davé says it’s not the same for women.  “It’s almost as if the holders of tradition are still the men,” she explains. Instead, Davé says, Indian and Indian American women on TV are often portrayed as exotic and desirable. "Indian women ... are seen as smart and sexually intriguing," she says. "This is in contrast to the men, who are knowledgeable but not necessarily desirable."

Davé uses the examples of Archie Panjabi in The Good Wife, Reshma Shetty in Royal Pains, Hannah Simone in New Girl and reality television star Padma Lakshmi of Top Chef

“A lot of people talk about how beautiful and exotic [Lakshmi (left, with fellow Top Chef judge Tom Colicchio] is, but not about how knowledgeable she is,” says Davé. “There are gender politics at play here. [Indian] women are beautiful and men are knowledgeable.”    

Both Lakshmi and Simone are former models. Like most of the Indian actresses and personalities on TV they are slim, with long dark hair and flawless style. Only recently have we seen the emergence of an actress who's the antithesis to this stereotype: Mindy Kaling.

First as Kelly Kapoor on NBC's The Office, and now as the star of her own Fox series, The Mindy Project, Kaling quickly broke the stereotype of the Indian woman as a flawless exotic beauty to comic effect.

When Kaling was given the opportunity to produce and star in her own television series, she received a lot of attention from the South-Asian community. “As an Indian American woman, I can’t stress enough how significant it is that Kaling is the only Indian American lead on television and the first Indian American female lead ever. It’s a huge deal and earns Mindy a spot in television history,”  wrote Kayla Upadhyaya, managing arts editor of The Michigan Daily, shortly after the show debuted.

Yet, Davé says, The Mindy Project so far has done little to address Mindy’s ethnicity. Kaling (right) has given viewers a few glimpses into her character’s background when introducing her brother, or casually mentioning that her parents once sent her to a Jewish camp, but hasn’t gone any deeper.  

“She’s working with two issues, gender politics and racial politics," says Davé, "and she seems to have really focused on gender.” Davé wonders whether Kaling went the gender route to satisfy the network and not alienate a general audience.

Kaling herself has said, "There's a saying that I really believe in when it comes to my Indianness: 'I try not to rely on it nor deny it.'"

Fox has renewed The Mindy Project for a second season, and Davé says this gives Kaling the opportunity to delve into her character's ethnicity.

Davé points to New Girl as the example of the liberties a second season can bring, particularly when it comes to addressing subjects such as race. Early in season two of the Fox series, Hannah Simone's Cece character reveals her plan to take part in an arranged marriage with an Indian man. Throughout the season viewers see her meet various eligible bachelors and even attend an Indian marriage convention. She finally meets and becomes engaged to her fiance Shivrang (Satya Bhabha, pictured at left with series star Zooey Deschanel, guest Ajay Mehta and Hannah Simone).

Davé praises New Girl for its commitment to incorporating diversity into the show's storylines. "I think this show is a response to the criticisms leveled at Friends, or talked about with shows like How I Met Your Mother, because it wants to include a diverse population and also brings in different characters," says Davé. “[There's a] constant use of 'brown' and 'black' and being part of your community," she says. "It's what is missing in The Mindy Project ... but since her show is still young I have hope she can complicate the characters and situations.”

The increasing visibility of South Asian Americans extends beyond network comedy and drama to news programs. A number of news shows and networks prominently feature Indian journalists. CNN has Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Fareed Zakaria, host of Fareed Zakaria, GPS; PBS NewsHour has correspondent Hari Sreenivasan; FOX News has senior news anchor Uma Pemmaraju; ESPN's SportsCenter features anchor Kevin Negandhi (right); and MSNBC’s Martin Bashir (formerly of ABC’s Nightline) hosts his own show weekday afternoons. Start-up cable network Al Jazeera America has hired Ali Velshi, who was until recently CNN’s chief business correspondent, to host its planned business program. The new network, which launches in mid- to late summer and will replace Current TV, will most likely hire more South Asian and Middle Eastern journalists in the coming months.

Sovy Azhath (right), the president of the South Asian Journalists Association and a producer with CNN, says younger Indians are helping to foster the diversity that's being seen on television news. “A lot of Indians are going into journalism, whereas before they were going into medicine. They are doing what they want to do. I feel there’s a shift because they want to follow their passion.”

Azhath believes there are still challenges to face as far as viewer stereotypes. “My goal and dream is to have mainstream society look at an Indian on TV and say, 'that’s a good anchor, he knows his stuff ... he’s smart, talented and hard-working like any other American.' We still have a lot of work to do,” he says. “We’re pioneers. We’re making it easier for next generation.”

Some of TV’s Indian “pioneers” will be part of the exhibit Beyond Bollywood: Indian Americans Shape the Nation, which opens at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC, in December. It will include portraits of  Mindy Kaling, Kal Penn, Kunal Nayyar and, yes, even Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, who will most certainly be a part of the upcoming 25th season of The Simpsons. This exhibit is part of the Smithsonian’s Indian American Heritage Project, which aims to chronicle the experience of immigrants from India and Indian Americans in the U.S.

Its curator, Dr. Masum Momaya (right) credits television as the medium through which the general American public has gotten to know the South Asian community.

“I think in last decade we’ve seen an evolution,” says Momaya, “but Indians are still cast based on stereotypes, in occupations such as doctors, scientists or engineers, or in some cases in cameos as taxi drivers or convenience store owners. So while there’s evolution, we still have quite a ways to go.”

Momaya believes independent films have done more than television to break the stereotypes. “[Films] explore things in a more nuanced way, and are not under pressure to cater to main stream audiences in the way TV is,” she says. “That’s what allows them to push beyond the stereotype to what it means to be a Indian person living in America, a person of color living in America, and immigrant living in America.”

Davé (right) sees signs that television is starting to break free of long-standing Indian stereotypes. She points to Aziz Ansari (left, with Amy Poehler), who plays Tom Haverford on Parks and Recreation, Kal Penn, who portrayed Lawrence Kutner on House (and now stars in the upcoming CBS ensemble comedy We Are Men with Lebanese American actor Tony Shalhoub) and Aasif Mandvi of The Daily Show as part of a new TV generation.

"I would like to see more Indian actors in leading dramatic roles (such as we saw in Lost and Heroes)," she adds. And that, too, is happening. In addition to Penn's We Are Men, a CBS comedy about four single guys living in an apartment complex and bonding over love relationship issues, the upcoming TV season will feature Summer Bishil as part of ABC's ensemble drama series, Lucky 7, and Annet Mahendru — who had a recurring role as Russian agent Nina on FX’s critical hit, The Americans, this season — will be a series regular for the show's second season.

Davé says it’s up to a new generation of Indian American scriptwriters to explore and honestly portray Indian American culture. "This is a time when taking chances could pay off.”

 
 
 
 
 
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18 Comments
 
 
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Clive Owen
Agreed that Indians seem to be under represented in what US tv shows we see across the pond but don’t forget the contribution Parminder Nagra made via ER in the naughtiest. Having listened to an interview with her on the twoshotpdcast recently, she had to work incredibly hard to break down race barriers over here prior to Bend it Like Beckham.
Apr 22, 2020   |  Reply
 
 
Jill
This always seems to be how americans slowly come around to race. Media. Its always refreshing to see such a talented actor represent a completely unrepresented and often ignored culture. I think we really need to move away from the sterotypes though, while it may make some people comfortable, the more its used to bring about familiarity the more ingrained it becomes in the average white american perception. I'm white, I've taken classes that teach me about the geography of India and the religions of India and so I'm a bit of an outlier, but I know that I'm not the only one who really enjoys the increase of idian american culture in the media. New girl is especially enjoyable, with not one but gasp- two important characters of indian decent.

Keep it coming people!!
Sep 27, 2016   |  Reply
 
 
vijay-kumar
i think the stereotyping and tap dancing that is going on in networks over how asian-americans are portrayed on TV is all about being cautious not to upset the general audience with scenes of asian-american men dating white women; hence, asian americans, at least the men, are projected as educated but goofy or providing comedic relief as a store owner or cabbie any of whom, therefore, not desirable enough for dating whites; i recall the reported defacing incident of a picture of a GAP poster portraying an asian-american man with a white woman not to mention the cheerios commercial racial backlash; of course, portraying asian women as exotic and sexually intriguing leaves open the door for them to date the whites which has been historically OK; i believe the majority of american whites are closet racists and that is the place that TV networks are afraid to tread;
Jul 25, 2014   |  Reply
 
 
Linda
I think Kaling is doing a wonderful job of just being Mindy an American. That is the ultimate goal to not see ethnicity, right? To cast actors based on talent not to fill racial quotas. Do American actors of German, English, or Italian have to explain their ethnic backgrounds. No and why should they.
Sep 1, 2013   |  Reply
 
Jill
That is the ULTIMATE goal, but until Indian Americans are cast as fluidly and withot hesitation, with ample representation in the media we must make it a point to educate americans as such. And the german, english, italians dont get cast because of their racial quotas because they are the go to, white people dont need quotas, or numbers of any kind. Theyre represented plentifully already :-)
Sep 27, 2016
 
 
 
Thanks for this—it’s a subject that’s very personal for me.

I assure you that while you were looking at the TV saying, “I never see anyone who reflects me” there were many talented performers trying to do just that. Ironically, I had to watch many a Simpson’s episode just to get an employable accent. Good times(not really).

Though, I do respectfully disagree with Ms. Davé. I doubt Mindy Kaling is "went gender route to satisfy the network and not alienate a general audience." She's just a comedian staying true to her own unique brand of comedy—one that she's had ever since her play, Matt and Ben. If European-American (a.k.a white) performers don't have the obligation of exploring their heritage/racial politics in their work (e.g. no one was upset that Ray Romano’s show wasn't Italian enough), we performers of color should have the same freedom in our work.

Anyhow, I enjoy all the smart TV talk on TWW (also enjoyed your “To Watch or Not to Watch piece). Thanks.
Jun 3, 2013   |  Reply
 
Monique Nazareth
Thanks so much for your comment, Mellini. I appreciate your opinion and feedback on this piece. Like "To Watch or Not to Watch," I really wanted to write about this subject as it's something I've been thinking about. Good luck with your work and I'll look for you on the screen.
Jun 18, 2013
 
 
 
 
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