As "The Simpsons" side-steps the controversy and character altogether, Shankar will produce the contest winning script through his Bootleg Universe site. 
 
 In April producer Adi Shankar launched a spec script contest for “The Simpsons” to solve what has become known as the show’s “Apu Problem.” The long-running character, a convenience store owner voiced by Hank Azaria, has become a controversial figure because many believe him to be an inaccurate and hurtful portrayal of Indian-Americans. 
 
 It was Shankar’s intention to crowdsource a script that “in a clever way subverts him, pivots him, writes him out, or evolves him in a way that takes a creation that was the byproduct of a predominately Harvard-educated white male writers’ room and transforms it into a fresh, funny and realistic portrayal of Indians in America.” 
 
 Shankar’s primary hope was that Fox would produce the script as an episode of “The Simpsons,” but now that he has found what he calls the “perfect script” and announces the winner of his contest, he told IndieWire that he has heard from people who work for the show that “The Simpsons” is eliminating the character. 
 
 “I got some disheartening news back, that I’ve verified from multiple sources now: They’re going to drop the Apu character altogether,” said Shankar in an interview with IndieWire. “They aren’t going to make a big deal out of it, or anything like that, but they’ll drop him altogether just to avoid the controversy.” 
 
 Shankar clarified that he got this news from two people who work for “The Simpsons” and a third source who works directly with creator Matt Groening. 
 
 Reached for comment on Shankar’s allegations, a representative for “The Simpsons” at Fox provided a cryptic response: “Apu appeared in the 10/14/18 episode ‘My Way or the Highway to Heaven.’” In the episode, Apu only appears in a single wide shot (below) that showed dozens of characters gathered around God. 
 
 Following Hari Kondabolu’s 2017 documentary “The Problem with Apu,” “The Simpsons” poked fun at the controversy in the ironically titled episode “No Good Read Goes Unpunished” that took a jab at the political correctness of the shows’ critics. Then in May, Matt Reiss, the only original writer still at the show, told Vanity Fair that the show dealt with the Apu problem back in 2016 episode, with the episode “Much Apu About Something,” and the character has “barely had a line in the past three seasons.” 
 
 Shankar believes the decision to yank the Apu character and avoid the controversy is a mistake, especially for a show known for its social satire. 
 
 “If you are a show about cultural commentary and you are too afraid to comment on the culture, especially when it’s a component of the culture you had a hand in creating, then you are a show about cowardice,” said Shankar. “It’s not a step forward, or step backwards, it’s just a massive step sideways. After having read all these wonderful scripts, I feel like sidestepping this issue doesn’t solve it when the whole purpose of art, I would argue, is to bring us together.” 
 
 Shankar who viewed his contest as an olive branch to the show, has picked a winning script from hundreds of submissions that he believes will be enjoyed by fans on both sides of the controversy. The Grand Prize winner is Vishaal Buch, a family doctor in Bethesda, Maryland. 
 
 Courtesy of Coverfly 
 
 In Buch’s script, Apu goes from a single store owner to a thriving businessman in Springfield. The spec episode doesn’t just focus on Apu, but pulls in other prominent Indian Americans in hilarious ways to highlight the importance of diversity and individuality through the lens of “The Simpsons.” 
 
 “The contest was never meant to be an attack against anyone, but I think in a lot of ways we weren’t asking for anything too radical than to be viewed in three-dimensions,” said Shankar. “I think the beauty of Vishaal’s script is it did just that. It wasn’t preachy. It wasn’t hammering us over the head. When a lot of people hear ‘The Problem with Apu’ they roll their eyes, ‘there is no problem with Apu, it’s these millennials, they’re out of control.’ I think in a lot of ways those people will really like this episode.” 
 
 Buch was like a number of the spec script contestants in that he had never written a screenplay before. In fact, Coverfly, the screenplay submissions management software company that administered the contest for Shankar, is helping the doctor this week translate his winning script into proper screenplay formatting. 
 
 “I think as entertainers we can be myopic in our view and it was really refreshing to read a script that was outside of our bubble, our ecosystem,” said Shankar. “It was clever and authentic.” 
 
 What Buch, a former US Air Force pilot, lacked in creative writing experience, he made up for with life experiences and a deep love and knowledge of “The Simpsons.” 
 
 “I was born in Oklahoma, moved to California, and have gone through all the ups and downs that comes with being an Indian-American,” said Buch. “To no one’s surprise I ended up in medicine, but what is different is that I actually practice in the US military. When you think of the US military you don’t necessarily think of an Indian guy, but that is how much the Indian-American has evolved. I grew up a huge fan of ‘The Simpsons,’ so to be able to help tell this story is a testimony to not only my hard work, but the hard work of others like me. It’s been a pleasure to work with Adi and his team, and I am incredibly excited for the journey.“ 
 
 Shankar noted that the number of doctors who applied to the contest was enormous. He also noted that the guest star most often written into submitted spec scripts, by an extremely wide margin, was Elon Musk. 
 
 Project Bootleg 
 
 Shankar is working under the assumption “The Simpsons” will not produce and air Buch’s script, which Shankar is in the process of helping to hone, so he will do it himself through his Bootleg Universe YouTube page. In addition to producing big-budget action films like “Dredd” and “The Grey,” Shankar’s Bootleg Universe has been his outlet to produce short films that reimagine well-known franchises and characters, like James Bond, The Punisher, and most notably a 14-minute short based on the The Power Rangers — directed by Joseph Kahn, starring Katee Sackhoff and James Van Der Beek — which racked up over 11 million views in its first 24 hours online and that many believe Saban Film took its cue from in rebooting the “Power Ranger” franchise. 
 
 In addition to his work in live-action, Shankar also has roots in the animation world and is the co-showrunner of the animated Netflix series “Castlevania.” Shankar is confident that he is capable of producing an episode of “The Simpsons” that will sound and look like the Fox series. He is also open to inviting “The Simpsons” voice actors, including Hank Azaria, to lend their talents. 
 
 Below is a video Bootleg made for $3,000 to test how it would emulate the art and style of the show. 
 
 Shankar also named a second place winner: Tasha Dhanraj, a London-based comedy writer represented by Emily Wraith at Berlin Associates. The producer said he hasn’t 100 percent ruled out producing that script as well, but mostly he wanted to acknowledge Dhanraj’s “incredible talent.” 
 
 Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here. ||||| Back in April, The Simpsons attempted to address the growing controversy surrounding the character of Apu Nahasapeemapetilon with the episode, “No Good Read Goes Unpunished,” which was heavily criticized for not so much addressing the issue as basically dismissing it. In response to the controversy, Indian-American producer Adi Shankar announced that he was holding a crowdsourcing contest for fan submissions to come up with a better script to be produced by either Fox or as a fan film. 
 
 Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear that the episode will ever come to fruition because, in a recent interview with IndieWire, Shankar said that he’s heard from sources that The Simpsons is planning to instead quietly write the character off the show. 
 
 Shankar blasted the decision as “cowardice” on the show’s part. 
 
 If you are a show about cultural commentary and you are too afraid to comment on the culture, especially when it’s a component of the culture you had a hand in creating, then you are a show about cowardice. It’s not a step forward, or step backwards, it’s just a massive step sideways. After having read all these wonderful scripts, I feel like sidestepping this issue doesn’t solve it when the whole purpose of art, I would argue, is to bring us together. 
 
 Twitter predictably also had thoughts about the decision to remove the character. Some blasted PC culture and social justice warriors, while others bemoaned the loss of the character or made jokes. 
 
 This joke is going to be a lot sadder now that Apu is gone pic.twitter.com/6jzT2GdMva — Delos (@04Sonicfan) October 28, 2018 
 
 Is the world a better place now that Apu is gone? pic.twitter.com/oElztQfg2S — JONDERS FPT (@JondersFPT) October 28, 2018 
 
 To anyone following the journey, I didn't get the #Apu script comp. I was informed a few days ago, however, that I was a finalist of 30 out of 200 though, and that is something I am very proud of. But a shame still: I would have loved for people to have seen that script. pic.twitter.com/I6VbEBqCXI — Sp00ky Jono (@JonnyJonJon1) October 27, 2018 
 
 This is the biggest ‘joke’ The Simpsons team have ever made. A load of complete nonsense. What about those of us Asians who loved Apu? We recognise that many of us are shopkeepers but are aware that not all of us are. The solution is more varied depictions not less. Regressive. https://t.co/DN38kkP0Pq — Adil Ray OBE (@adilray) October 27, 2018 
 
 You know what, Apu? I am really gonna miss you. 
 
 Credit: Julia Taylor pic.twitter.com/AT1SYOmG86 — dank simpsons (@DankSimpsons) October 28, 2018 
 
 Wonder who will replace Apu on the Simpsons pic.twitter.com/0NbDKVxTdK — mez (@Mez9696) October 28, 2018 
 
 The Problem with Apu documentary filmmaker Hari Kondabolu also weighed in: 
 
 RIP Apu. RIP My Mentions — Hari Kondabolu (@harikondabolu) October 27, 2018 
 
 For what it’s worth, the winning script that Shankar selected was written by Vishaal Buch, an Indian-American family doctor from Bethesda, Maryland, who envisioned Apu going from owning the Kwik-E-Mart to being a thriving businessman. The episode would have focused not just on Apu but would have incorporated “other prominent Indian Americans in hilarious ways to highlight the importance of diversity and individuality through the lens of The Simpsons,” according to Indiewire. 
 
 It’s unclear whether Apu would have been voiced by Hank Azaria or an Indian-American voice actor, but either way, it sounds like a huge missed opportunity on Fox’s part. 
 
 Update 7:30am CT, Oct. 29: Executive producer and writer Al Jean has pushed back against reports that The Simpsons is writing Apu out of the show. On Twitter, Jean noted that Shankar isn’t a producer and that “he does not speak for our show.” 
 
 H/T Indiewire ||||| The actor, who voices the role, says he could be replaced by an Indian or south Asian actor and called for more diverse voices in the show’s writing room 
 
 The Simpsons actor Hank Azaria, who provides the voice for Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, has said he would be willing to give up the role and be replaced by an Indian or south Asian actor after calling for more “inclusion” and diversity in the show’s writing room. 
 
 He made the comments on Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show, where he called for the creators of The Simpsons to listen to the criticism over Apu, who has been called “a noxious pastiche of south Asian stereotypes”. 
 
 Azaria said: “I think the most important thing is to listen to Indian people and their experience with it. Listening to voices means inclusion in the writers’ room. I really want to see Indian, south Asian writers in the writers’ room, genuinely informing whichever direction this character takes. 
 
 “I’m perfectly willing to step aside. It just feels like the right thing to do to me.” 
 
 The conversation around the Apu character started when Hari Kondabolu – a standup comic from New York – created a documentary called The Problem with Apu, in which he explained how the character was used by children and young people, who would use his catchphrase “Thank you, come again!” to bully south Asian Americans. 
 
 Kondabolu told the Guardian in 2017: “There are a billion reasons to love The Simpsons and Apu was one of them. But when you sit in high school, which is, I think for most of us, the lowest point in our lives, you realise [Apu] was a tool for kids to go after you. And this was perfect, right? A caricature with this ridiculous accent that nobody has.” 
 
 He said: “I still had the same vulnerabilities, and my parents were accented. I thought: how are they going to view my parents, how are they going to view me?” 
 
 The Simpsons addressed the criticism during an episode in early April. Lisa Simpson referenced the controversy in a scene which ended with a picture of Apu with the phrase “don’t have a cow” on it. 
 
 Kondabolu responded on Twitter, and criticised the scene as dismissive and “sad”. He tweeted: “Wow. ‘Politically incorrect?’ That’s the takeaway from my movie and the discussion it sparked? Man, I really loved this show. This is sad.” 
 
 Azaria had previously said the fact that Apu had caused harm and suffering was “disturbing” and “distressing” to him. 
 
 “The idea that anybody was marginalised based on it, or had a hard time, was very upsetting to me personally and professionally,” he added. 
 
 Last week, Al Jean, the executive producer of The Simpsons, tweeted that he would “try to find an answer” to the controversy. “I truly appreciate all responses pro and con,” he wrote. “[I] will continue to try to find an answer that is popular [and] more important right.” ||||| Screenshot: The Simpsons 
 
 On last night’s Simpsons, the show’s creators poked fun at comedian Hari Kondabolu’s documentary, The Problem With Apu, which critiqued the show’s portrayal of its primary Indian character. 
 
 The Problem With Apu, which aired on TruTV in November of last year, explored Kondabolu’s relationship to The Simpsons, a show he loves, as well as the character Apu, who he hates. The movie spun out of a segment Kondabolu did for Totally Biased With Kamau Bell, where he described Apu’s voice as, “A white guy doing an impression of a white guy making fun of my father.” Hank Azaria, the voice of Apu, declined to be interviewed for Kondabolu’s documentary, but told TMZ that it “made some really interesting points.” 
 
 In last night’s episode of The Simpsons, characters Marge and Lisa seemingly make a reference to Kondabolu’s criticisms. Speaking directly to the camera, Lisa says, “It’s hard to say. Something that started decades and was applauded and inoffensive is now politically incorrect. What can you do?” The camera then pans to a portrait of Apu, which has “Don’t have a cow, man!” written on it. Marge replies, “Some things will be addressed at a later date,” and Lisa adds, “if at all.” 
 
 
 
 Kondabolu addressed this response on Twitter, saying, “In ‘The Problem with Apu,’ I used Apu & The Simpsons as an entry point into a larger conversation about the representation of marginalized groups & why this is important. The Simpsons response tonight is not a jab at me, but at what many of us consider progress.” 
 
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 Today, The Simpsons showrunner Al Jean retweeted a tweet saying, “Loved how you guys handled this non-issue. People just want to cry about everything nowadays b/c it makes them feel like they’re doing something. … Oh and I’m Indian and according to Twitter my opinion matters more on this topic.” 
 
 Speaking to Kotaku before the documentary aired, Kondabolu said, “People say to me that you can’t change this beloved thing. It’s like, Maude Flanders is dead, Krabappel is gone. They make changes, things happen and you adjust to it.” 
 
 Correction, 11:33am: A previous version of this article referred to Apu as The Simpson’s “lone” Indian character, and has been change to say that he is the show’s “primary” Indian character.
– The Simpsons character Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, who has been criticized for promoting negative stereotypes about South Asians (and is voiced by white guy Hank Azaria), may be getting cut from the show. "I got some disheartening news back, that I’ve verified from multiple sources now: They’re going to drop the Apu character altogether," producer Adi Shankar tells IndieWire, claiming he heard the news from two people who work on the show and a third person who works directly with creator Matt Groening. "They aren’t going to make a big deal out of it, or anything like that, but they’ll drop him altogether just to avoid the controversy." Shankar was talking to IndieWire about Apu because he recently held a spec script contest for an episode dealing with the show's "Apu problem" and had been hoping Fox would agree to produce the script. Reached for comment, a rep for the show told IndieWire simply that "Apu appeared in the 10/14/18 episode 'My Way or the Highway to Heaven.'" IndieWire notes that the only shot Apu appears in during the episode is one in which dozens of characters are gathered around God. Comedian Hari Kondabolu, who made a recent documentary about Apu, responded to the news by tweeting, "There are so many ways to make Apu work without getting rid of him. If true, this sucks." The Daily Dot rounds up other critical and mournful responses on Twitter. Shankar, producer of films including Dredd and The Grey and co-showrunner of Castlevania on Netflix, plans to produce the winning script (which sees Apu going from Kwik-E-Mart owner to thriving businessman) himself on his Bootleg Universe YouTube page. (Here's what Azaria thinks should happen with Apu.)