Brooklyn-based comedian Hari Kondabolu is the host of the popular podcast “Politically Re-Active” alongside W. Kamau Bell. In the new documentary, The Problem With Apu he tackles minority media representation and specifically Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, the Indian immigrant proprietor of the Kwik-E-Mart, a convenience store in Springfield – in the animated television series The Simpsons.
In this highly-personal, insightful and timely exploration of minority media representation, Kondabolu speaks with prominent South Asian actors about the damaging legacy of Apu – who is voiced by a white actor with a heavily exaggerated, stereotypical Indian accent.
Aziz Ansari, Kal Penn, Aasif Mandvi, Hasan Minjaj, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Aparna Nancherla, Russell Peters, Sakina Jaffrey and Maulik Pancholy share poignant stories about their own experiences with Apu and the broader questions about the comedy and representation he evokes.
With additional interviews with EGOT-winner Whoopi Goldberg, W. Kamau Bell, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, Mallika Rao, and many more, The Problem With Apu takes a humorous look at how even a beloved television series can have a blind spot.
The Problem With Apu directed by Michael Melamedoff will World Premiere at DOC NYC 2017 on Tuesday, November 14, 2017; and will make its television premiere on truTV Sunday, November 19 at 10PM ET/PT.