We NEED to talk about Indians from the 2000s... 

Hello! Let me just say that I didn't think this video would get even 1/100th of the views that it currently has. There are a LOT of interesting insights being dropped in the comments, and I'm having a blast reading through it all. I'm grateful and beyond overwhelmed with how much this topic resonates with you, Indian or otherwise. Thank you all for watching! Having said that, I want to clarify a few things: 1.) "I think it's okay to make racist jokes about Indians, so long as it's funny" Another huge component of that is CONTEXT. With the Russell Peters example, obviously his jokes wouldn't hit the same if it was coming from a stand-up comedian that was NOT Indian. Having said that, I have seen people like Lilly Singh receive backlash for her Indian impressions and jokes about Indian people, as well as other Indian comedians being criticized for relying too much on racial humor, whereas Russell Peters (from what I've observed) is universally loved. It is incredibly difficult to write and perform comedic material, which is why it's such an incredible accomplishment when someone is successful at it. 2.) Gandhi may not have been the sole reason Clone High was cancelled, but it is worth noting that the show was rebooted for a 2nd season WITHOUT his character *X-files themesong* 3.) There's nothing inherently wrong with a non-Indian actor voicing an Indian character like with Gandhi or Dr. Vindaloo or hell, even Raj from Camp Lazlo, but I would say that automatically disqualifies that character from being "good representation". How can you represent Indians when you're not even being voiced by an Indian? 4.) Despite all my shit-talking, I don't think any of the shows or movies I mentioned are bad. None of them are *unspeakably terrible* works of TV or film, I even said that I was a fan of some of them. I just think that going forward, Indian characters deserve better.

" a woman?" * puts the red dot in the forehead* " a INDIAN woman!!*

"...Indian faces like mine, faces like yours" me, who isn't indian : *nervous sweating*

"Faces like mine, faces like yours" My black ass:🧑🏾‍🦱😀

I lived in India and Disney adapted a bunch of Disney channel sitcoms. What's funny is that, to make it less offensive, they made the Indian guy in Jessie a Sri-Lankan, and in Suite Life they made the Indian prince come from some made up country.

Hey! There's a difference between Greg and Chirag! Unlike that WIMP, Chirag is actually confident and isn't a complete psychopath like Greg 💀

The fact that they put a child in this situation is gross, I'm glad you pointed blame at the adults not him. Sadly most people online are cruel to child actors since they're the face of the character rather than the adults and directors who instructed him in those roles, it's hard enough to grow up as a minority what to say one in the limelight with guardians like those

I cant with the backing music for Baljeet being stereotypically Indian for him talking about his science passion, it's like them trying to signal "look, Indian moment!" Imagine if every American character had bluegrass or the US National Anthem in the background of their dialogue 😭 It's giving "I don't have any type of accent!?" ignorance.

its always so interesting seeing native english speakers talk about baljeet, because in the dub i got to watch as a kid he doesnt have an accent. hes just the nerdy kid and happens to be brown. sure, his indian heritage still comes up and the whole "baliwood" number still exists, so its not like that one change suddenly makes him great representation, but when i first heard his original voice i was so surprised because growing up to me baljeet was just a smartypants who, like, sometimes had indian musical cues in the background of his scenes.

If I can jump in as a guy who watched a lot of Phineas & Ferb growing up. One of the creators Dan Povenmire has expressed regret to early characterization of Baljeet, he thinks that later episodes fleshed out his character. And personally, I agree; Sure, he still nerdy and neurotic, but he becomes a person instead of a stereotype. He gets jokes that aren't just based around him being smart, he is willing to get out of his comfort zone. I have also always been fascinated by his and Buford's (the kid in the clips) relationship. It starts out confrontational, even abusive, but they eventually find a comradery that is genuinely sweet. Now, This is from a white boy who is fully willing to admit he could be wrong, but I would suggest taking some time to watch a couple of the later episodes and specials, you may find them better. great video, hope to hear from you soon!

in the Scott Pilgrim franchise, there's an indian character called Matthew Patel. in the comics, he is Ramona's first evil ex and has mystical powers however he's short lived due to easily defeated by the main character Scott. in the live action movie, he's mostly the same but now has a bollywood song. but in the recent anime, they expanded more on his character by giving him more screentime and dialogue, and also making him the CEO and is a theater kid. Matthew doesn't have the accent, but they are few bits of stereotypes in him but overall he's a great character.

This is a topic I have always been SO passionate about! I remember as a kid seeing Ravi in Jessie and wondered why they made him very stereotypically Indian but didn't make Zuri stereotypically African? And then when I saw him in diary of a wimpy kid and heard his accent and was like "oh that's how he really talks" but when I discovered that he actually has an American accent in real life it just made me feel so... Bad? Like why do they make him speak with that accent in every single thing? Even as a kid I realized it wasn't right

it's always so interesting to see people of other cultures explain stereotypes that people who aren't of that culture wouldn't notice. Like I once saw an Asian woman explaining the colored streak in female Asian character's hair trope, which is something I never caught on to. as a black woman I obviously can't relate to being Indian, but it was weird to me how exaggerated Karan Brar being Indian was in the show Jessie. He had a whole lizard as a pet...I've never been to India or anything but I'm certain Indians can have normal pets like dogs and cats. Also I don't know if you saw the new mean girls but Karen's actress was played by a beautiful Indian lady who did an interview on how nice it was to break away from these kinds of stereotypes

As a black American, I don't think that it's wrong to compare the minstrelsy of the 20th century to the Indian characters we saw back in the 2000s. It quite literally is a form of minstrelsy. Actors are having to don a voice, play up stereotypes, and put on exaggerated expressions to get roles in Hollywood. Is that not minstrelsy? The kid from Jessie and Wimpy Kid had to get an accent coach, either because he did not have the accent or because no one thought his accent was Indian "enough". Know what I'm saying? Also, I think Kal Pen said what he said because Kumar was different. "At least you're not being called Apu" It's the lowest bar, but there's something to be said about there being put into more than one box by people. At least they don't JUST see you as X. Idk. Also, Whoopi collects the minstrel memorabilia as a way to preserve history. It's a way of knowing where you came from, of not letting others ignore or forget the past. It's history! Recent history! It's jarring at first, but once you sit down and think about the meaning behind the collection, you'll get it. And last thing, I think India took more offense to the Gandhi portyral because he's such a public figure. Like, it's a point of national pride, he's the father of India. So of course they're gonna try and stop something that tarnishes his image. At least that's how I see it.

"Faces like mine, faces like yours" my Slavic ass: 👩🏻

"Indian faces like mine, faces like yours" welp, I guess I'm not a black girl anymore, I'm Indian now

Kelly Kapoor from The Office seems to subvert the trope. She comes off as a Valley Girl, but with Indian heritage.

The stereotypical portrayals are insulting. I remember seeing Raj on the Big Bang Theory and thinking “ is this what show runners think Indian people are like?” I really hope portrayals of Indian people are getting better

I love that part in the Cabin Fever book when Chirag is an asshole to Greg because he doesn't celebrate Christmas and can get away with being naughty.

Phineas and Ferb is really interesting, where a lot of the characters start one note stereotypes, but over the show's run they get their nuances fleshed out and I think that's partially because characters as characters is just...more enjoyable to watch than stereotypes. Baljeet starts off as the smart, geeky wimp but as the show goes on he becomes a LOT more confident, snarky and arguably the straight man of the group; most likely to comment on how weird the situations they get into are. Him being academically focused goes from being a joke about him being a teachers pet, to him being the reliable Facts & Formula genius to Phineas's creative genius and Ferb's mechanical genius. The moments where he trio's up with Phineas and Ferb to solve a logistical problem are really cute, and emphasis that his genius is as admireable as the titular character. Early on, one of the Fireside girls liking Baljeet is treated as (honestly a kind mean) joke, but by the end lots of girls like him and that's just...a thing about Baljeet that everyone accepts. That's not to say he completely stopped being a stereotype, being a straight laced nerd is still an aspect of the characer that they lean on for humour. However since the show ended I think both the creators and his voice actor have acknowledged that how they treated his Indian identity hasn't aged well, so I hope in the reveival they push to actualise him as an individual beyond a stereotype.

also whenever Southern Asians are represented in cartoons it's almost always like a "fish out of water" story where they assimilate into western culture only to be shunned by their families (it's almost always portrayed negatively)

Gandhi was a part of why Clone High was cancelled, but not the only reason. MTV was trying a lot of different things at the time, including a lot of animated shows pretty much all of which only lasted a season. So it was mostly likely that the show wasn't getting the ratings they wanted for the cost of animating a show. So combine that with the bad press and it was an easy decision.

It’s such weird looking back at shows like Jesse, because being a kid not from english speaking country hearing how much offensive the not dubbed voices were is a shellshock like no other

If I took my child to audition for a movie and they were instructed to basically put on a minstrel show for the camera, we would be walking out IMMEDIATELY. It’s bad enough that they had a child in the 2010s (not the 1950s, but the 2010s) portray a character riddled with ethnic stereotypes. But the fact that these movies were aimed at impressionable CHILDREN and the writers decided that this was okay is something else. 🤦🏽‍♀️

I used to watch a cartoon called "Camp Lazlo" which are about these animal kids who go to summer camp, and one of the main characters is an elephant boy named Raj who has a very thick indian accent.

In a blooper on “Jessie” Karan was doing a scene & he messed up & said “Ok now let me do it again with an Indian accent” I was shocked

I rewatched Phineas and Ferb recently and Baljeet has some good character development (although, admittedly most of it is after 2010). Also, many of the other characters also have random accents - like Ferb being English and Doofenscirtz being German. (No explanation however why Isabella doesn’t have a Spanish accent, or use more Yiddish/Hebrew words, as a Mexican jew)

i have no idea what it’s like to experience racism as an indian, but as a black woman, i was always super interested in indian culture and thought that aspects of it are beautiful and alluring

Baljeet is interesting because over the seasons his bully becomes his best friend who follows him around for anything and they have a pretty strange relationship like, they had everything to at least be implied to be a couple in the epilogue if Disney didn’t chicken out and give Baljeet a beard in the last minute

Did not believe you were Indian until you put the bindi on. Your features clearly scream Dutch. (But seriously where did you get that top, I love it)

Thanks for the "Doctor enchilada" as a mexican... I LMAO

Lol at the beginning, im not indian but i am indigenous and we’re still called indian by the government. Also such a good video i love when people give their thoughts on cartoon representation!

“I can prove it too” had me rolling 😂

Apu's a tricky one. He was built up over the years into so much more than just the guy who works at a convenience store, but Simpsons definitely made stereotype jokes from time to time. I mainly remember a scene where Apu invites Homer over. He puts on an "Indian pop" record of fast high-pitched singing, then realizes the record player was set to 78 RPM.

As a mexican I love el fuerte on street fighter he yells "TOSTADA" and "ENCHILADA PRESS" in a heavy accent

This video feels relatable to me as an autistic person. We are often depicted as nerdy, socially awkward people when we can be just as diverse as anyone else.

As a latina, I feel that our minority was also depicted offensively and still is as well. I hope one day television changes. Im tired ot it! Fantastic video, you totally deserve more subscribers!

I have a theory as to why a lot of people in india love the big bang theory. When apu was removed from the Simpsons, a lot of people here in Latin America didn't understand it and where mad that it happened. And i was confused bc shouldn't we be mad about the misrepresentation of indian people too since the same thing happened to us with bumblebee man in the Simpsons? But then i understood that people here are able to see bumblebee man as a joke, yes made at our expense, but only as joke. At the end of the day that's not going to be used by an us american to make fun of us bc this is Latin America and we know that we are not like that. But if you are a latine inmigrant or the child of one, you will only then realize that all of those drug lords and spicy latinas characters in their media are how they see you. That's all we are apparently to them. But that bleeds out to us here, when our already successful actors and actresses try to make it also in Hollywood. I remember when ricardo darin, maybe one of our most talented actors in Argentina, got offered the role to be a drug lord in a hollywood movie. He said he was offended by that bc he knew of the way we were being represented in their media. And yeah, bumblebee man is not as bad but that doesn't mean he is the only case of misrepresentation. Anyways, what I'm trying to say is that maybe people in india don't see the problem or don't care bc it doesn't affect them as much as indians in the us, especially the ones who want to be involved in the making of media there. But then again, is a theory

I have never clicked on a video so fast. Hope this video blows up, girlie.

Great video! I never noticed how Indian representation was almost always male, I wonder why that is? I always thought it was bizarre how many cartoons had characters with Indian accents who weren’t even voiced by Indian people. I think Ruby Gloom and Littlest Pet Shop both have examples of that.

How did I never notice the music in the background when Baljeet is on screen???

SID: I'm mixed indo-caribbean and white British. On your point of "it's okay to make racist jokes if they're funny" I'd point to Chabuddy G in the BBC show People Just Do Nothing. The actor Asim Chaudhry who played him justified him as "taking the piss out of that one indian uncle everyone has" which really made me feel better about him. He's not meant to be a racist caricature for non-brown folks to look and laugh at for talking in an OTT accent and playing silly scams, he's meant to be FOR brown folks to see as their weirdo family member who's always up to shit. He's a stereotype of a specific type of Indian guy that british-indian folks are familiar with. The same way that you have white nerds and white jocks and white whatever groups, he's your nutty brown uncle. It's not a racist joke/character, it's a character who's joke relies on you understanding race/culture-specific stereotypes. I'm not sure what point I'm making but I just wanted to shout out my boy Chabuddy G Edited for typos. Probably missed some

This effects kids so much. I was mistaken for being Indian as a kid (js bc I have a red dot on my forehead that's a birthmark) and was treated like I knew everything about idea even tho I didn't even know what an "india" was😭

I have to bring up Guru Pathik because even though I love ATLA to death, I have to ask why? Like the show has clear real life inspirations for all 4 nations and then there is just a walking Indian sterotype who's just there. It makes me ask but why not just make him from Earth Kingdom who studied Airbender culture before the war instead of the sterotype?

Fez from That 70s Show will always be an enigma because we don't know which country he's supposed to be stereotyping 😂

this is crazy. i'm brazillian, so i've watched these all dubbed in my childhood and they had no accents whatsoever in the brazilian version.

Your ‘proving your indian’ bit at the top of the video nearly took me out. You are very talented and I hope you keep making videos. As an African-American I do think there is some validity to comparing the Indian stereotype to the Minstrel Show in America. The popularity of the stereotypes were so pervasive many black actors were only able to make money as performers by performing within the stereotype, black face and all. Many a black performer added blackface to their own face just to work during the height of the Minstrel Show which isn’t too far from Indian Actors being trained to put on an accent. Even after the extreme make-up stopped being as pervasive early hollywood basically had the echo of Minstrel stereotypes for years and years. There’s a movie called Origin which explores caste systems and I think a lot of what you’ve dissected fits well into what that film was exploring.

Dan Povenmire, creator of Phineas and Ferb, has actually gone on record apologizing for any hate that resulted from Baljeet and admitted that early on in the show they relied on tokenizing before developing him out more.

I really enjoyed hearing your take on all of this. What I found particularly interesting and saddening is how "surface level" society is. Like not just with the people writing these characters, but the way people project them. The "being called Kumar is better than Apu" argument is awful because (regardless of Kumar or Apu) it shows that society is more keen to identify someone based on race than any personality traits. For example, I bet nobody has ever nicknamed a vegan friend "Apu" in spite of that being a character trait of Apu. But countless people have nicknamed an Indian friend (or stranger) "Apu" because... skin color. It's sad when someone's race is the only thing perceived.

Growing up, I used to watch this really obscure Canadian show with an Indian lead called How to Be Indie. I'm not sure how well it holds up today, but I do remember that the main character was treated as a normal teen. It was my Never Have I Ever growing up.

The entertainment industry plus Hollywood have no idea on how to write a normal human character, they always use the most ridiculous stereotypes.

I remember hearing Karan Brar speak in his actual voice for the first time as a teen and feeling icky. it gave me second hand embarrassment for everyone involved-including myself for not realizing he was probably faking it & so are a majority of Indian actors

When I was younger, the character representing India that I grew up with was Raj from Camp Lazlo on Cartoon Network in the 2000s. I haven't remembered that much from Raj until the RU-vidr Uncle Al made a parody of Camp Lazlo. I related to Raj a lot due to him being very analytical, but also the one character in Lazlo's friend group that says "No, we should not do that," akin to Double D from the show Ed, Edd, n' Eddy. Buuut, Raj was a slight people pleaser at the same time while trying to do and say the right thing, causing conflict with himself, his friends, and his fellow camp scouts. So yeah: Me and Raj were a bit too alike. Lmao.

I'm a 16-year-old boy in the USA in an Indian family and to this day, literally 16 years after Baljeet's first appearance on Phineas and Ferb, I'm still mocked for it. Also I have the glasses and I'm skinny. Yay! Racism! Luckily, I'm going to be a filmmaker in Hollywood when I grow up and I'll definitely fix all these issues for sure

I looked it up, and i’m kind of surprised that Baljeet was actually voiced by an Indian guy

On the Suite Life on Deck, London Tipton had a roommate temporarily who’s name was Padma Srinivasanviswanathan. I can’t remember the name of the episode but it felt very stereotypical. And that also means that the Suite Life trilogy had at least two stereotypical Indian Characters.

I always thought these characters were really messed up. Looking back on Jessie in general, all of the characters of color were stereotypes. Ravi, Zuri, Luke. I’m actually so thankful that they at least didn’t make Zuri a huge African stereotype, but making her a black American stereotype is almost worse.

This video really made me think. I knew Indian people being nerdy and awkward was a stereotype but it was this video that made me realize how egregious that would be having that as the only representation. I’m glad you made this video for people like me (non Indian) to be aware of this stuff.

Come think of it, the only non- stereotypically portrayed Indian characters I can think of from the early 2000s are Sav and Ali from Degrassi and CeCe from New Girl. And to be honest I can't remember if these characters were debuted before 2010 😬

This video has been long needed. Me as white person was aware of the ‘nerdy Indian guy’ stereotype/trope but didn’t realize truly how prevalent it was til you started listing the characters which then prompted me to start thinking of even more characters and I was like daaaammmn. Prismo from Adventure Time. He’s voiced by Kumail Nanjiani who has a bit of an accent just naturally but it’s not over the top, he’s not putting it on and just is there pretty neutrally. But I definitely think Prismo falls into like the ‘princess & the frog’ type category, in the sense that his main form that he’s shown in throughout his screen time isn’t human. We only see his true human form briefly 2x and he very clearly isnt white he’s a middle aged brown guy with like a crazy huge beard but otherwise while his human form is asleep & dreaming he’s a huge pink shadow. Overall tho I think Prismo is pretty epic, he’s liked by most fans me included, and he’s one of the main characters- Jakes bestie so. Connie Maheswaran from Steven Universe. She’s voiced by a non Indian actress which is super unfortunate (I thought the actress was white up until this point but I looked it up and apparently she’s mixed but still not Indian). Im not an authority to say if her portrayal falls into stereotypes or is just rep so I’ll just say the facts are about her character and you can decide for yourself. Connie is introduced as a girl the main character as a crush on and throughout the series plays the role of his best friend and later love interest. At first she’s very lonely and doesn’t really have any friends except the main character because her mom is very strict and academically focused. Her mom, Priyanka is a doctor and her dad, Doug works in private security. Im not sure if both Connies parents are intended to be Indian or just her mom. Both her parents are voiced by non Indian actors. The ark she goes through in the series is going from sorta meeker type character to a very self assured one as she secretly learns soft fighting, is involved with magical adventures, and develops and heals her relationship with her mom who eventually becomes less strict and more emotionally available. Personally Connie is one of my favorite characters in the series and was as a little girl was a role model for me as she majorly a badass.

Family Guy had a gag about Indian people with Bollywood and how if you press the red button on their forehead, it's a bomb. Oh and Cheetah Girls had a movie that took place in India. Let's not forget Scooby-Doo, I think they had Scooby-Doo dressed up like a Swami and Shaggy was throwing his voice to make it look like Scooby was talking.

I'm a hispanic male, so i can't speak on the offensiveness of any of these potrayals. But for what its worth I've always loved all these Indian characters, how much Chirag was nerdy like Greg, and how much Ravi loved his culture & Mrs. Kipling. Again I'm not Indian, but i enjoyed seeing these happy, nerdy characters that i felt i could relate to

This video is going to blow up

Surprised no one has mentioned Kevin Gnapoor from Mean Girls, I’m not Indian so I don’t wanna judge how good/bad he is as representation, but I loved him & thought he was so funny in the (‘04) movie although he does kinda fit some of these stereotypical attributes that other Indian male characters in the 00s had that you mentioned. But that rap scene was goated fr

As a Sikh, the only real representation i saw growing up was the character of Vikram Singh in Spike Lee’s Inside Man. I always found it interesting though, when sitcoms tended to have ethnic background characters (taxi drivers, shopkeepers, doctors, etc) that were meant to be Sikh but tended to be non-Sikh actors in terribly wrapped turbans mixed in with some generic Arab stereotypes. One of the worst offenders is in my favourite sitcom, Scrubs, but even today I noticed it when rewatching an episode of Ugly Betty.

Thank you for making this video... Im not indian, but im puertorican/pakistani... I know that we arent exactly the same, but i think we very much share similar experiences. In puerto rico theres a very big problem of casual racism. Cant tell you the amount of times ive been called things like "baljeet" or other insults/jokes that are typically directed towards indian people (which is definitely due in part to blatant ignorance, and how we are all portrayed in the media. They like to lump us all in one category, its easier for them). I see people making fun of hinduism and hinduism practices, gods etc. more often than i think i should, especially on tv, including portrayals of islam. It hurts to know that these portrayals affect how people percieve me and people who are similar me. I think you did a very good job highlighting all of this, i really hope we get more and better indian representation in media in the future.

The writers were gonna reveal that he wasn't even Gahndi's clone the entire time, but it was cancelled and season 2 had to delete him.

Congrats on this video POPPING OFF!! Im not Indian, but i love hearing multiple perspectives, especially the perspectives of the people something effects the most.

I'm always so fascinated to hear about the history of how various non white groups were portrayed in media over the years. Thank you for making this. Honestly while I'm not Indian, as an Arab I've noticed a lot of similar trends over the years regarding media I grew up with and even seen aspects from Indian culture injected into Arab characters and vice versa because the people writing these characters couldn't be bothered to do the research. Even though it's shitty it's also so fascinating to me how different non white characters have been historically portrayed in largely western media and I wish there was more discussion around it.

Jessie is so much more racist than I remember. I distinctly remember when Jessie threw zuri an “African themed birthday party” to “remind her of home”. THE WHOLE CONTINENT. like I know Jessie grew up on military bases and was sheltered or whatever but WHAT

Thank u for posting this I internalised a lot of these dynamics and ideas and it led to a lot of problems in my life and how I viewed myself Hearing u compare it to minstrelsy was hugely validating It's hard looking back at my past and seeing memories of me minstrelising myself in a lot of ways It hurts Your video is healing Thank you for posting

Thank you for this video! I am white and live in predominately white country, so any education about race is very valuable to me. I would say I agree with your statement that it is okay to make racist jokes, but once again I am white, so it is not my place to say it. For me personally, if I make a race-cased joke it is only with my closest friends whom I know won’t take the racist part seriously and just appreciate the punchline

Great video, I’m Mexican, so maybe I’ve never seen it, but it’s kinda crazy how I’ve never seen a bigger backlash towards Disney’s Indian characters, because even I could tell that the portrayal felt very…. Wrong to put it mildly, so it’s nice to see a video address it. Also maybe it’s cause I saw Courage as a kid and haven’t seen much since, but I didn’t realize the doctor was meant to be Indian, I feel kinda dumb noticing it now. Anyway again awesome video

I'd love to hear your thoughts on Anthy Himemiya from Revolutionary Girl Utena

I think Dave from Flight of the Conchords is a good example of an Indian character being given a level of unique and funny characterization that’s often only reserved for white actors… which is my long winded way of saying I love Dave, I think he’s hilarious, and it’s cool to see him in a show from the 2000s.

ravi didn't have a fake indian accent in the spanish dub that i watched as a kid lol

I wish there were more videos like this on RU-vid. I’m Ivorian American, but love to hear from other experiences from different cultures.

NOW IVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS, TURN IT UP!!!!

Thanks for this video! One of the characters in my comic is indian (based off one of my best friends) and leans into the "normal person" camp of characters but this has made me aware of some pitfalls and given me a starting point to do more research on my own.

This is something I learned from Film Crit Hulk: I think it's more helpful to think of comedy not as "punching up vs punching down", but as, "Who do I want this joke to be FOR?" I don't know Russell Peters beyond this video, but his jokes seem to land well with the Indian audience because they come from a place of shared experiences. Excellent video, btw!

Courage the cowardly dog is a great show. I completely forgot about dr.vindaloo tho 💀 Would love to know your opinion on Connie and her family from Steven Universe. Its definitely another case where I wish they got Indian actors instead of white people, but its even weirder cuz its a bunch of white voice actors big in the anime voice scene so they're an indian family who the parents sound like really popular classic anime characters (the mom does the voice of Ghost In The Shell's main character and the Dad is Alucard from Hellsing). Wild

hey girl! i'm indian too! i think your points are totally valid and i hope that this vid will blow up! im so glad that nowadays indians are getting more and better rep. one of my favs is sunita from rottmnt, who's yours?

There's clearly a need and desire for these videos. Thanks for posting.

Wow I’ve never took time to look at a lot of these characters as wrong. Thank you! This was very interesting and informative video for me. Raj, Baljeet, Chirag, Ravi. All characters I grew up watching and honestly loving. I literally had crush on Ravi. I knew not all Indian people were like that. I thought that Ravi just loved his culture and wanted to show it. Looking back on it now though, Now that I know, the idea of him growing up faking an accent, his loss of Cam, depression and substance abuse is devastating. I hope to see him in better roles as himself. And I can’t believe Whoopi has this weird collection? Great vid.

I dont feel like this is something new i bring to the conversation, but (white male) really feel how indian characters evolved in my consciousness. Like i had only known baljeet and the jessy one and didnt have mean spirited thoughts about them, i just saw then as quirky guys. But with people like Devi, Kingo and spidey it hit me, that i've never seen any indian thats not like baljeet.

the craziest thing is as a kid I remember feeling proud of characters like Baljeet and Ravi because there was such little representation of South Asians. Even though it made me sightly uncomfortable I was just so happy to see people of my race were finally included since we're so used to getting nothing

I'm from germany and I very recently watched the Simpsons in the original english Needless to say my perception of Apu changed dramatically when I heard him with an overexagerrated accent. In german he just rolls his Rs but otherwise speaks normally. To me Apu was a university graduate, ladies man, small business owner, passionate about many things, wise about others. The idea he was a negative depiction only came to me when I heard how the creators decided to have him speak

im from latin america and baljeet doesnt have an accent in the spanish dub!! it shocked me how awful the accent is in the original

This was an interesting vid, gave me a lot of insight and perspective into an issue I'd been a little skeptical about before. Something interesting when it comes to Raj from Big Bang Theory can be applied to other non-caucasian characters as well, not just Indians. It's pretty common to see them portrayed as emasculated sexless introverts who can't speak to women, a lot of the same attributes of Raj can be found in characters of other ethnicities too, like Fez from that 70's Show or Abed from Community. I think there's a real problem with how Hollywood other-ed or type casted non white folks. Stuff like comparing Apu to bIackface made me skeptical, but hearing you talk about it cleared up any skepticism I had. This is a really rational well thought out vid. One lil note tho, I think adding some lo-fi beats or something would really make the vid flow and pop a lil more! Great vid tho, I'm excited to see where your channel goes in the future!

I used to have a big crush on Prince Naveen he definitely broke the mold and is less talked about😭 He is voiced by a white actor though…So close.

Im so Glad this was in my Suggestions Everything you said was Spot on !!! and I Appreciated how you lended your Voice to this MUCH NEEDED dialogue. Also when you said Dr.Vindaloo would be the equivalent to a Mexican Doctor named Dr. Enchilada I LOST IT 🤣🤣🤣🤣😭😭😭😭😭 That literally caught me SOOOOOOO Off Gaurd it made my Stomach Hurt from laughing so Deeply. Thank You For That 🫂🫂🫂 and God Bless in Jesus Name 🕊️🕊️🕊️🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🕊️🕊️🕊️

i would love to hear your opinion on the representation of indians in cheetah girls 3! that movie sparked my love for indian culture and heritage as a child, so your perspective would be greatly valued🫶🏼 i also think charag in the wimpy kid movie was lowkey based on kevin gnapoor from mean girls. they both have that “nerdy but doesn’t let that hold them back from talking to girls” kind of energy

I don't agree on having strictly only Indians voicing Indians in cartoons / ONLY casting people for voice roles based on race. I think this only becomes an issue when people put on a fake accent. Voice casting should have creative freedom and should fit the character. Of course that also means if the character is supposed to have an accent cast someone with an actual accent, otherwise the person casted is not the right person for the role.

How do you feel about the Scott Pilgrim character Matthew Patel? He's a fan favorite in the comic and it's adaptations and his song in the live action movie is reposted a lot

This video got recommended to me and I have to say thank you to the algorithm, I checked out your etsy and saw the bloodywood patch!!! We stan bloodywood so hard

Stumbled onto this video via RU-vid algorithm and found your view very interesting. You have a charm that kept me engaged

I found your video rather interesting......My first response happens to be in the early 2000's , my ex and I went to the movies and saw a movie called " Bend it Like Beckham ". I enjoyed this movie to the point I sought other movies by the director such as " Monsoon Wedding ".... I am sure you are aware of this movie focusing on an Indian girl balancing life between western and traditional culture... A POSITIVE portrayal of the Indian community... As for racism.... In 2014, I visited my mother in North Carolina at which point my mother introduced me to her yard man... The yard man told my mother that I looked either South Asian OR Middle Eastern; even though I am not EITHER... I informed my mother to tell her yardman THANK YOU for Middle Eastern and South Asian individuals are VERY attractive people....Due to my Poly Racial appearance, I have experienced the unwelcomed racist issues especially after 9/11...... I took a Holiday to the Middle East and experienced a relaxed welcoming entry into Dubai, UNLIKE the stressful, interrogated , and unnecessary detainment that I received when i returned back to my own country USA....BTW I am a FORMER Police Officer.. Over 20 years after the " EVENT ",certain individuals that look a certain way are still judged and harassed without an end in sight even though most of these individuals are a benefit to this country. Have a nice day.

Thank you SO MUCH for making this video. Growing up, I felt insecure about being a South Asian person because I thought the portrayals of people like me were how other people saw me. I 100% agree with everything you said in this video.

Dr Mohinder Suresh is an indian character from the 2000s in a show called Heroes, this is not a comedy like the others you mentioned, but im curious to know if he was a good representation of Indians. i feel yes because of what you said and because the show isn’t a comedy, but since im not of indian descent i cant make that judgement accurately.

I love your commentary!! I’ve thought about this a lot as a southeast Asian person and how representation for us has changed too. Characters are hardly ever depicted as actually Filipino (versus half white or adopted or Latine) but that’s a completely different issue. I haven’t thought in depth about Indian representation so this is enlightening for me… I subbed, excited to see more from you! :))