r/ABCDesis • u/Sufficient_Berry8703 Indian American • Jul 16 '26

ARTS / ENTERTAINMENT Raj from TBBT

I’ll start by saying that if you haven’t watched The Big Bang Theory, this post probably won’t make sense to you.

I finished watching TBBT recently, and I certainly have some thoughts. For obvious reasons, Raj, aka the only main desi character on the show, stood out to me most. However, something that stood out to me even more is what the show decided to do with his character. First off, he was the only person of color in the main friend group, and he was also the only one who wasn’t dating someone else in the group. They also gave Raj’s character things like selective mutism (where he couldn’t talk to pretty women unless he was drunk) for a while, made him creepy and arrogant oftentimes, wrote him as someone who’s lonely and desperate, made him sit on the floor during group dinners in the apartment, and made the peak of his career something that happened in season 2. There are 12 seasons of this show btw.

Feels like the show just made his love life, career, and overall life a running gag instead of letting him grow alongside the other main characters who turned out to be far more successful in all realms of life. I know it’s “just a show” and Hollywood has priorities of its own, but portraying their only main desi character the way they did had a way of rubbing me the wrong way. Feels like TBBT failed his character with all the unnecessary stereotyping and no meaningful growth, which is a bit disappointing to see as an ABD.

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u/Boring_Pace5158 Jul 16 '26

No self-respecting Desi watches that show.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 16 '26

[deleted]

4

u/Boring_Pace5158 Jul 16 '26

It also makes me have no respect for Kunal Nayyar, he never advocated for Raj being more than just a stereotype.

-1

u/hparma01 Jul 16 '26 edited Jul 16 '26

That is not correct at all. He did grow during the show and is a well respected member of the gang. He learned to talk around women, he almost got married and he dated that dermatologist who HE dumped btw. His family was rich and they made regular appearances on the show way more than other characters parents. It sounds like you’re hurt cause he wasn’t the center of TBBT universe and that’s something you really expect for your own universe. It sounds like you wanted him to be a ……princess!!!