“After a while, you’d watch The Simpsons on a Sunday and you’d get a sense of how you’d be made fun of at school on Monday, based on what Apu did in the latest episode.” Hari Kondabolu doesn’t mince words about the impact the character on the long-running animation had on his own life. “Kids in the playground would always mimic the accent and say ‘Thank you, come again!’ or ‘Hello, Mr Homer!’” the Indian-American comedian tells BBC Culture. “Sure, growing up in New York City everyone tries to be funny. If you grow up there you learn to make...