Kunal Nayyar’s Raj Koothrappali Nearly Had A Completely different Title

In lots of sitcoms, the principle characters change rather a lot within the early phases because the present finds its toes, and “The Large Bang Principle” was no exception. Penny, as an illustration, was initially purported to be a a lot meaner, extra cynical character; within the un-aired pilot of the sequence, she wasn’t even named Penny in any respect. Likewise, Raj was a personality it took some time for the writers to correctly determine. Not solely did he change an honest quantity on the present itself, however within the manufacturing of season 1, the writers modified his total title and backstory. As reported within the 2022 guide, “The Large Bang Principle: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Collection,” Raj’s title was initially Dave. 

“Dave” was purported to be “American-born to immigrant Indian mother and father,” however as co-creator Invoice Prady recalled, “When Kunal [Nayyar] got here in and we heard his accent, we mentioned, ‘For example that he is Indian-born.'” They let the actor himself select the character’s title, and Kunal went with Rajesh. 

“He picked his first title as a result of India has a whole lot of areas and ethnic teams, and we wished to be sure that the final title and first title went collectively,” Prady defined. “Koothrappali is a Southern Indian title, and so he picked ‘Rajesh.'”

The truth that the writers had been so prepared to alter up main particulars of Raj’s life is becoming, as a result of Raj fairly often feels just like the least fleshed-out character in the principle group. Sheldon, Leonard, and Penny are sometimes thought-about the core of the sequence, the three characters who would essentially change the entire present’s dynamic if you happen to had been to take away any of them, however Raj (and Howard, to a lesser extent) aren’t fairly as important. It is a widespread fan critique that Raj feels extraneous, and he typically lacks the main focus or character growth that even late-addition characters like Amy Farrah Fowler bought to take pleasure in. 

Raj is the one character who does not discover love by the finale, and searching again at his character arc over the entire sequence, there does not appear to be as a lot of a coherent trajectory taking place as there may be with a number of the different characters. Raj’s wardrobe could have many layers, however sadly, the character himself does not.

Nonetheless, Raj was an necessary a part of the present, and he did ultimately get some character development to work with. He is initially launched as being incapable of speaking to ladies besides when he is drunk, however within the season 6 finale he grows previous this selective mutism for good. Loads of his late-series growth facilities round him making an attempt to determine what he needs from life, which looks like a aspect impact of the writers themselves not fairly understanding what the character needs, both. 

Then once more, it is clear the showrunners took an improvisational method to all the principle characters, not simply poor Raj. “There are not any steps deliberate in the mean time,” producer Steve Molaro defined in a 2013 interview. “We do our greatest to let the characters take us the place they need to go.”