Kunal Nayyar dishes on Big Bang Theory’s initial plans for Rajesh Koothrappali

Big Bang Theory’s Rajesh Koothrappali, played by Kunal Nayyar has come forward with some shocking details regarding the initial plot of the show, one which was scrapped the moment Kunal stepped foot in the audition room.

During his interview with Metro UK, Kunal was quoted saying, “When they were rounding out the cast of Big Bang when I was auditioning, at that time the character was called Dave, and he was supposed to be a first-generation American… but I came and I brought my big New Delhi self to it!”

He went on to say, “I was auditioning against Koreans, Japanese, Pakistanis, Chinese… they were really trying to fill out the diverse characters into this show. ‘It wasn’t particularly “oh here we want an Indian scientist”. I got very lucky and it happened to fall into my hands.”

Kunal concluded by saying, “They allowed me to really be an Indian, who has Indian qualities who doesn’t always run away from them, but also does run away from some of them. That’s just what all of us do. All of us have cultural appropriations that are attached to us, that sometimes we run away from, and then sometimes unbeknown to us, we fall into, and I think they found a really nice balance with Raj.”

"So that’s why you see a lot of Indians in roles and in roles on television, but also in roles in life in those positions. I’ve always said if a stereotype is to be smart, I’m happy to take it!"