The Simpsons' beloved Kwik-E-Mart operator Apu has returned after almost a decade in animation exile.
He and his wife Manjula were back for this year's Halloween-themed episode — with the voices of actual Indian American actors: Sunil Malhotra, a veteran voice-over artist, and Janina Gavankar of The Morning Show.
"Bringing Apu back feels like a reclamation. It truly IS his homecoming," Malhotra and Gavankar said on Sunday in a joint Instagram post.
Apu's unheralded return in the 38th season is a remarkable twist to a years-long discourse about how the character has represented a painful stereotype for some Indian Americans.
After a 2017 documentary by comedian Hari Kondabolu, "The Problem With Apu," the character was largely absent.
Kondabolu, a self-described fan of the Fox show, tried to process his misgivings.
He interviewed a slew of celebrities of South Asian origin including Kal Penn, Utkarsh Ambudkar and Hasan Minhaj, who shared memories of being bullied and called "Apu" as an insult.
Adding to their view of Apu as just a caricature was that Hank Azaria, a white actor, voiced him.
With the full name of Apu Nahasapeemapetilon Jr, he felt like the "forever foreigner", University of Connecticut assistant professor of sociology Bhoomi Thakore said.
Thakore notes that Kondabolu's film raised the notion that Apu was the only portrayal of an Indian character most people knew when he debuted in 1990.
Azaria stepped away from the role after the documentary, continuing to voice other Simpsons characters as Apu fell silent, seen only in the background.
Kondabolu, however, had never called for Apu to be cancelled.
On Monday, he praised The Simpsons for devising "a clever solution to all this" and hiring Malhotra and Gavankar.
"I'm also still proud of the public conversation about race and representation my documentary started," he told The Associated Press in an emailed statement.
"Finally, I'm hoping this stops all the hate mail in many languages that has been sent my way over the past decade."
After years in the background, Apu appears here to stay.
"We love this character and wanted to bring him back in a smart, Simpsons-y way that allowed him to evolve," executive producer Matt Selman said in a statement.
"We're excited by what Sunil has already brought to the role and look forward to seeing more of Apu in the future."
Apu was also embraced by many Indian people, despite the controversy.
A few weeks after The Simpsons responded to the documentary, author and producer Amar Shah wrote a series of social media posts and then an op-ed on why he felt mostly sentimental toward Apu.
When he watched Apu, he thought of his own Indian father hard at work as a convenience store owner and how that shaped his Florida childhood.
"Apu even now is a character that I wouldn't mind my kids seeing represented because they'll see aspects of themselves and of their own grandparents," Shah said.
"I can totally empathise with someone of South Asian origin having a different POV (point of view) than me but this is my childhood. This is my story."
After watching this latest episode, Shah didn't sense any significant difference with Malhotra's performance.
"Obviously, there's a different voice, tenor, texture and all that. But, the character is always going to be there, his genuine humanity," Shah said.
"I think if they had incorporated this change earlier, it would have been a lot better."