After nearly a decade of silence, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon spoke again in Springfield during a Sunday night Halloween episode, with voice actor Sunil Malhotra taking over the iconic role while Janina Gavankar joined the cast as Manjula.
Across 38 seasons, the animated series has delivered holiday specials, but Sunday’s broadcast brought an unexpected return for the convenience store owner who had not been heard for the better part of a decade. The character’s last spoken line came in October 2017, the same year a documentary focused critical attention on his place in television history.
The Revengening and the Return to Springfield
The comeback arrived in an episode titled The Revengening
, constructed as a parody of slasher films where residents discover they share a collective secret after accidentally striking a masked reveler with a car on Halloween night. When the presumed victim returns to exact payment, he removes his mask to reveal Apu.
I am the man you left for dead. I am the one you pretended never existed!
Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, via Entertainment Weekly
The script leans directly into self-awareness. Marge offers an on-screen apology for leaving him isolated, while other townsfolk nod to internal debates among the creative team. The sequence ultimately dissolves into a dream sequence inside the Kwik-E-Mart, but executive producer Matt Selman confirmed that the character will remain a part of the show going forward.
Later in the special, characters encountered other in-universe figures, including Leon Kompowsky, who was originally voiced by Michael Jackson in a season 3 episode that remains out of circulation on Disney+. Apu himself shared his survival story after being left for dead, recounting how he washed ashore an island of forgotten garbage where he was treated by Dr. Nick. In the episode, Apu is revealed to be having a dream while working at the Kwik-E-Mart after being unmasked by Springfield residents.
Sunil Malhotra Takes Over the Role
Sunil Malhotra steps into the part previously voiced by Hank Azaria for nearly thirty years. When the audition request arrived, Malhotra admitted that the idea made his stomach sink given the historical baggage surrounding the character’s portrayal.
Before committing, Malhotra requested meetings with showrunner Matt Selman and co-executive producer Cesar Mazariegos to ensure the approach was respectful and collaborative. He was joined by Janina Gavankar, who steps in to voice Apu’s wife, Manjula. In a joint social media statement, the actors described the casting milestone as a reclamation.
Bringing Apu back feels like a reclamation. It truly IS his homecoming.
Sunil Malhotra and Janina Gavankar, via Instagram
Malhotra’s extensive voice-over background includes credits across television and video games such as Grey’s Anatomy, The Legend of Korra, World of Warcraft, League of Legends, Halo: Reach, Fallout 4, and Mortal Kombat 1. Reflecting on his studio sessions, the actor described the satisfaction of finally delivering Apu’s emphatic lines after years of absence from the series.
The Long Shadow of The Problem with Apu
The character’s sideline status began following the release of Hari Kondabolu’s 2017 documentary, which examined how exaggerated accents and cultural tropes affected South Asian viewers. Azaria announced his departure from the role in 2020, stating it just did not feel right to continue. Later that year, the show announced a policy shift ending the practice of casting white actors in non-white voice roles.
While Kondabolu praised the new creative solution in an emailed statement to the press, public sentiment surrounding the character has remained complex. Author and producer Amar Shah noted that many second-generation viewers also held deep sentimental attachment to the convenience store owner as one of the few familiar faces on prime-time television during their childhoods. University of Virginia media studies associate professor Shilpa Davé pointed out that when the character debuted, he represented one of the few consistent depictions of South Asians on television before more diverse representation appeared across modern programs.