Until last night, it had been 3,304 days, 192 episodes, and approximately 5,760 minutes (ad breaks included) since The Simpsons' fan-favourite Kwik-E-Mart owner Apu Nahasapeemapetilon last spoke in the show. As you may recall, original voice actor Hank Azaria bowed out following 2017's Season 29 premiere 'The Serfsons' and the subsequent release of Hari Kondabolu's thought-provoking doc The Problem With Apu, which explored the impact of the character and his presentation on South Asian people. But now, after years restricted to wordless background appearances, Apu — and his beloved wife Manjula — are back back back, now voiced by Sunil Malhotra (The Legend Of Korra) and Janina Gavankar (The Morning Show) respectively. Check out the duo's post marking the Nahasapeemapetilons' return below;
Apu's long-awaited return comes in Treehouse Of Horror XXXVII lead-in 'The Revengening', which finds a man in a monastic robe and Daft Punk helmet (yes, a Daft Monk) who has been accidentally killed over and over again by Springfield residents decide that enough's enough, turning the tables on the townsfolk's would-be killers by offing them himself, one at a time. Eventually, the town's residents are gathered at Springfield City Hall, where the masked man reveals himself, pointedly referring to himself as "the man you left for dead" and "the one you pretended never existed" before defiantly revealing his true identity and shouting "I am Apu!" Cue a classically meta rest of the episode as the Simpsons' writers wrestle with Apu's erasure — and return — in-text, with Marge and Bart leading the apologies for casting him out, Lenny referencing "internal conversations" about reintegrating him, and Homer paying genuinely touching tribute to Apu's importance to Springfield while acknowledging how he has been taken for granted.
The return of Apu and his family is about as perfect and thoughtful a comeback as you could reasonably hope for, and comes with an "It was all a dream" denouement that tees up future appearances — something new VA Malhotra is very keen for. "I’d be lying if I didn’t say that the sweetest part of all was unleashing that righteously rage-fueled “I AM APU!” — on behalf of so many of us — over and over in the studio until we got it just right,” said the actor in an interview with Variety. “I really feel like we did and I can’t wait for fans to see more Apu.” And to that we can only say thank you, come again!