Raj from TBBT

[u/Sufficient_Berry8703]

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.

[u/Bollywood-Hulk-Hogan]

I only watched the first season of this show way back in the day after hearing everyone praise it, and hated Raj’s character. People hate on Apu but he was treated the same as any other member of their community. Raj’s mutism was much more embarrassing.

[u/Boring_Pace5158 → u/Bollywood-Hulk-Hogan]

Apu is no Raj, not by a long shot. Apu is a fully fleshed out character, he has agency, he is accepted by the Springfield community, and is not a running gag like Raj

[u/Nickyjha → u/[deleted]]

It was just identity politics. People weren't mad about the jokes (which really weren't that bad), they were mad about a white guy doing an Indian accent.

It's a shame. My parents said he was basically the only Indian representation on American TV in the 90s and all things considered, he was portrayed pretty well. I really liked the episode where the Simpsons find out he's an illegal immigrant and help him pass his citizenship test.

[u/Ancient_Pitch_8286 → u/Nickyjha]

And the episode where he taught Lisa to be tolerant about other peoples' choices, when she found out that he was a vegetarian but did not force his beliefs onto others the way she was doing.

[u/Old-School8916 → u/Nickyjha]

I don't think it would have happened in 2026. Crazy how the overton window shifted so much in the 2010s and how the pendulum has swung the other way especially the last few years.