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(Redirected from Apu)
'Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Jr.', Ph.D., is a fictional character featured on the animated TV series ''The Simpsons'', voiced by Hank Azaria.
Apu's first name is an homage to the main character in the ''Apu trilogy'' directed by Satyajit Ray. Many of his mannerisms, his intelligence, and even the appearance of his parents mirror this character. His surname, ''Nahasapeemapetilon'', is a morphophonological blend of the name ''Pahasadee Napetilon'', the full name of a schoolmate of ''Simpsons'' writer Jeff Martin.[1]
Apu is proprietor of the Springfield 'Kwik-E-Mart', a local convenience store. An immigrant from India who arrived in 1988, he is, like most Simpsons characters, a caricature of a common 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 a robbery.
As the proprietor of the Kwik-E-Mart, Apu charges high prices for low quality products, which are often past the expiration date or otherwise unfit to consume. In "Lisa's Pony" Homer finds out he is the only person who eats the Kwik-E-Mart hot dogs, as they have never been moved from their display case. 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 72 hours (near the end he thought he was a hummingbird). He has also told his children to never eat the food because it makes you "sickey". 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)!
During the 1960s, while still living in India, Apu spent some time as a student of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, when he befriended Paul and Linda McCartney. Apu's friendship with the McCartneys resulted in him being dubbed by some (mainly himself) as ''The Fifth Beatle''. They visited Apu in Springfield around the time he became naturalized. 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' — the Calcutta Institute of Technology — going on to earn his doctorate at the Springfield Heights Institute of Technology.
His doctoral dissertation was the world's first computer program to play perfect tic-tac-toe. (Years later, Apu trashed the program after Bart Simpson pulled out a random punch card and messed up the whole program.) 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, which 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.
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). During a press conference, a reporter asked if Apu was actually Hindu, to which Apu responds, "By the many arms of Vishnu, I swear it is a lie."
Apu is married to 'Manjula', who bore Octuplets: 'Anoop', 'Uma', 'Nabendu', 'Poonam', 'Priya', 'Sandeep', 'Sashi' and 'Gheet'.
:''For more on Apu's family, see Characters from The Simpsons''.
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 octuplets after receiving too many doses of fertility drugs from herself, Apu and the well-meaning, but non-synchronized, Simpsons.
Apu and Manjula have a mostly happy marriage despite understandable marital problems caused by Apu's workaholic nature and long hours, the strain of caring for eight children, and an instance of infidelity by Apu. When Apu was unfaithful to Manjula, one of his punishments was to legally change his name to 'Slime Q. Slimedog'. He and his family are devotees of the Hindu gods Shiva, Ganesha and Vishnu. Homer, in a misguided attempt to play on the bride and groom's families' fear of the gods, arrived at Apu's wedding dressed as the Hindu god Ganesha. The impersonation was called out by one of Apu's relatives, who exclaimed, "You are not Ganesh! Ganesh is graceful!" Before his marriage, Apu became known as the leading ladies' man in Springfield, because he holds a PhD and runs his own business. His sex appeal was enhanced when he 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."
Sanjay, Apu's brother, helped run the Kwik-E-Mart. Sanjay's daughter is Pahasatira, and his son is Jamshed. They all shared 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 as the oldest of three as shown on a chart. 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. Kavi appeared in the episode ''Kiss Kiss Bang Bangalore'', which is set in Bangalore.
A trait of Apu is being repeatedly robbed and shot. This is established in Krusty Gets Busted, in which he says, "I know the procedure for armed robbery. I ''do'' work in a convenience store, you know." In an episode where Marge befriends an artistic inmate at Springfield Penitentiary, the man explains that he was incarcerated for shooting Apu. Marge's response was that "Lots of people shoot Apu. It's just a $100 fine now". Apu himself later vouched for the man, claiming that unlike other attackers, he stayed with Apu until the ambulance arrived, then ran "like a deer." Apu has also been heard to express relief at being tied with nylon rope at another robbery as it was much more comfortable, almost sensuous. At one point, when the town was trying to decide how to spend the money they received from fining Mr. Burns, Apu suggested putting the money to more police because "I have been shot eight times in the past month."
★ "Much Apu About Nothing" by Rohin, ''Pickled Politics'' (blog), September 26, 2005.
★ "The Apu travesty" by Manish Vij, ''Guardian.com: Comment is free'', July 16, 2007.
★ "Et Tu, Apu?", ''The Brian Lehrer Show'', July 26, 2007.
'Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Jr.', Ph.D., is a fictional character featured on the animated TV series ''The Simpsons'', voiced by Hank Azaria.
| Contents |
| Name |
| Profile |
| Background |
| Family |
| Wounds |
| References |
| External links |
Name
Apu's first name is an homage to the main character in the ''Apu trilogy'' directed by Satyajit Ray. Many of his mannerisms, his intelligence, and even the appearance of his parents mirror this character. His surname, ''Nahasapeemapetilon'', is a morphophonological blend of the name ''Pahasadee Napetilon'', the full name of a schoolmate of ''Simpsons'' writer Jeff Martin.[1]
Profile
Apu is proprietor of the Springfield 'Kwik-E-Mart', a local convenience store. An immigrant from India who arrived in 1988, he is, like most Simpsons characters, a caricature of a common 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 a robbery.
As the proprietor of the Kwik-E-Mart, Apu charges high prices for low quality products, which are often past the expiration date or otherwise unfit to consume. In "Lisa's Pony" Homer finds out he is the only person who eats the Kwik-E-Mart hot dogs, as they have never been moved from their display case. 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 72 hours (near the end he thought he was a hummingbird). He has also told his children to never eat the food because it makes you "sickey". 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)!
Background
During the 1960s, while still living in India, Apu spent some time as a student of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, when he befriended Paul and Linda McCartney. Apu's friendship with the McCartneys resulted in him being dubbed by some (mainly himself) as ''The Fifth Beatle''. They visited Apu in Springfield around the time he became naturalized. 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' — the Calcutta Institute of Technology — going on to earn his doctorate at the Springfield Heights Institute of Technology.
His doctoral dissertation was the world's first computer program to play perfect tic-tac-toe. (Years later, Apu trashed the program after Bart Simpson pulled out a random punch card and messed up the whole program.) 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, which 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.
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). During a press conference, a reporter asked if Apu was actually Hindu, to which Apu responds, "By the many arms of Vishnu, I swear it is a lie."
Family
Apu is married to 'Manjula', who bore Octuplets: 'Anoop', 'Uma', 'Nabendu', 'Poonam', 'Priya', 'Sandeep', 'Sashi' and 'Gheet'.
:''For more on Apu's family, see Characters from The Simpsons''.
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 octuplets after receiving too many doses of fertility drugs from herself, Apu and the well-meaning, but non-synchronized, Simpsons.
Apu and Manjula have a mostly happy marriage despite understandable marital problems caused by Apu's workaholic nature and long hours, the strain of caring for eight children, and an instance of infidelity by Apu. When Apu was unfaithful to Manjula, one of his punishments was to legally change his name to 'Slime Q. Slimedog'. He and his family are devotees of the Hindu gods Shiva, Ganesha and Vishnu. Homer, in a misguided attempt to play on the bride and groom's families' fear of the gods, arrived at Apu's wedding dressed as the Hindu god Ganesha. The impersonation was called out by one of Apu's relatives, who exclaimed, "You are not Ganesh! Ganesh is graceful!" Before his marriage, Apu became known as the leading ladies' man in Springfield, because he holds a PhD and runs his own business. His sex appeal was enhanced when he 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."
Sanjay, Apu's brother, helped run the Kwik-E-Mart. Sanjay's daughter is Pahasatira, and his son is Jamshed. They all shared 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 as the oldest of three as shown on a chart. 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. Kavi appeared in the episode ''Kiss Kiss Bang Bangalore'', which is set in Bangalore.
Wounds
A trait of Apu is being repeatedly robbed and shot. This is established in Krusty Gets Busted, in which he says, "I know the procedure for armed robbery. I ''do'' work in a convenience store, you know." In an episode where Marge befriends an artistic inmate at Springfield Penitentiary, the man explains that he was incarcerated for shooting Apu. Marge's response was that "Lots of people shoot Apu. It's just a $100 fine now". Apu himself later vouched for the man, claiming that unlike other attackers, he stayed with Apu until the ambulance arrived, then ran "like a deer." Apu has also been heard to express relief at being tied with nylon rope at another robbery as it was much more comfortable, almost sensuous. At one point, when the town was trying to decide how to spend the money they received from fining Mr. Burns, Apu suggested putting the money to more police because "I have been shot eight times in the past month."
References
External links
★ "Much Apu About Nothing" by Rohin, ''Pickled Politics'' (blog), September 26, 2005.
★ "The Apu travesty" by Manish Vij, ''Guardian.com: Comment is free'', July 16, 2007.
★ "Et Tu, Apu?", ''The Brian Lehrer Show'', July 26, 2007.
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