Koothrappali, Rajesh
| Rajesh Ramayan Koothrappali, PhD | |
 Rajesh Ramayan Koothrappali, PhD | |
| Name | Rajesh Ramayan Koothrappali, PhD |
|---|---|
| Age | October 6, 1981 (26 in November 2007) |
| Occupation | Particle Astrophysicist |
| Actor | Kunal Nayyar |
| Kunal Nayyar Biography | |
| Character Profile | |
NOTE: This description is borrowed from Wikipedia, with some editing.
Koothrappali is Wolowitz's best friend and yet another genius. He also works in the Physics department at Caltech, where his area of expertise is particle astrophysics. For his discovery of a planetary object beyond the Kuiper Belt, he was included in People magazine's "30 Under 30" to watch for, and thus received a larger office for his work, granting him somewhat of a celebrity status. He is of Indian extraction (yet despises Indian food) and, like Wolowitz, has a love for Stephen Hawking. He approaches women in the exact opposite way of Wolowitz: he is so shy that he is unable to speak to them unless he is intoxicated or doesn't feel he is directly addressing them. When Penny spoke to him once, he voiced a lengthy inner monologue, reminiscing of his native customs and singing. More often than not, though, he just stays silent. Alcohol appears to suppress his social anxiety, where he has prolonged conversations with women after drinking. In "The Bat Jar Conjecture", he says a few words to Penny (sober) but then clasps his hands over his mouth. After being a total jerk to Penny while drunk, he tries to apologize through a note. Penny refuses saying she wants an actual apology with words. He manages to utter a very high-pitched "Sorry", which is accepted. An experimental anti-anxiety drug enables him to talk fluently to women but has side effects on his motor controls and mannerisms, eventually wearing off at the wrong moment, resulting in a very funny moment involving Sheldon's sister Missy, who is apparently attracted to Raj out of the three guys. All of the guys enjoy playing Halo 3 every Wednesday and Age of Conan excessively, with Koothrappali stating he has experienced gaming addiction. For comedic affect, Raj is commonly left on his own in Leonard's and Sheldon's apartment without any acknowledgment by his friends. He frequently wears a blue jacket. He regularly communicates with his parents back in India via video chat software. When they become meddling or judgmental, he often "brings his parents" into Leonard and Sheldon's apartment via his MacBook, to seek his friends' support in the discussion. His father is a gynecologist.
A running gag seems to be developing where Raj seems to "gets lucky" unexpectedly. For example, he goes home with Cheryl, a girl he meets at Penny's Halloween party, who describes him as "an amazing man ... gentle and passionate, and oh my god, you're such a good listener!" (0106). When he, Howard, and Leonard go to the bar to try to meet women, only he ends up with a girl, much to the surprise of the other guys, who left him at the bar when he kept ordering what Howard considered to be "gay" drinks (0220).
Raj calls his mother "mummy" and his father "papa" (0108).
Trivia
Raj's social anxiety around women seems to be indicative of selective mutism, and is inspired by a former coworker of Bill Prady's.
Raj's birthday is October 6 (0418). He turned 26 in 2007, which means he was born in 1981.
