《The Simpsons》(The Simpsons) Apu speaks again after nearly nine years, and Sunil Malhotra takes over as the voice

Springfield convenience store owner Apu finally has a line again.In a new episode of The Simpsons aired on October 18th local time in the United States, it was Sunil Malhotra who spoke for him.TVLine confirmed that he will continue to voice the character, replacing Hank Azaria.

The last time Apu's lines were voiced by Azaria was back in the episode aired in October 2017.After that, Apu still appeared in Springfield occasionally, and there was no dialogue for a long time.In January 2020, Azaria announced his retirement from the character he had voiced for nearly thirty years. At that time, the producers had not yet made it clear whether Apu would retire or find another actor to take over.

Underlying this silence is an ongoing debate over the use of white actors to voice Indian characters and the stereotypes of the characters.Comedian Hari Kondabolu discussed the derogatory label this image brings to Indian-Americans, including himself, in the documentary The Problem With Apu.Azaria later explained that once he understood how people viewed the character, he no longer wanted to be involved in it because it didn't feel right to him.

Apu's wife Manjula also changed her voice.Janina Gavankar, who has appeared in The Morning Show, voiced Manjula for the first time in the same episode.This character was previously voiced by Jane Hooks and Tracey McNeil.With the addition of two new actors, Apu, Manjula and their family will appear more frequently in subsequent stories and will also have dialogue again.

Malhotra grew up near Chicago and has an acting resume that spans live-action television and animation.He has appeared on Grey's Anatomy, House and The West Wing, and has further work in voice acting, including Prime Video's The Legend of Vox Machina, and Nickelodeon's The Legend of Korra and Monster High.

Executive producer Matt Selman told Variety about the return that the team has always loved Apu and wanted to bring him back in a way that was smart and "The Simpsons" but also allowed the character to develop.“We are excited by what Sunil has already brought to the role, and we look forward to seeing more of Apu in the future.”