Rajesh Koothrappali

Rajesh Ramayan "Raj" Koothrappali, Ph.D., is an Indian astrophysicist and Howard Wolowitz's best friend. He often hangs out at Leonard and Sheldon's apartment. Originally from New Delhi, Raj has an Indian English accent and, ironically, dislikes Indian food and culture. Raj often portrays himself as having come from humble origins and growing up in poverty in India, only for his friends to remind him that his father is a gynecologist, drives a Bentley, and has servants. His principal characteristic is a case of selective mutism, which does not allow him to talk to women outside of his family and can only be suppressed through alcohol or experimental social anxiety medications, although the former often changes his personality.

Career
Dr. Rajesh Koothrappali is an astrophysicist and faculty member at Caltech's Physics Department. For his discovery of a planetary object beyond the Kuiper belt, 2008 NQ 17 (which he calls "Planet Bollywood"), he is included in |People People magazine's "30 Under 30 to Watch", granting him some form of celebrity status and a larger office for his work. He is also known for a publication on Kuiper belt object size distribution, having run a simulation to correct for the observational efficiency, and was awarded the Newcomb Medal. However, the work Raj performs at the university is repetitive enough that he could conceivably be replaced by a simple software program, and he fails to observe an exoplanet orbiting the star Epsilon Eridani with his much anticipated time using a ground-based telescope operating in Hawaii.

During The Pirate Solution, when Raj's research testing the predicted composition of trans-Neptunian objects ends, his working permit and visa are bound to become void, as they are only valid as long as he is employed. He seeks out a research position in stellar evolution with Professor Laughlin. However, the job proposition fails as the research team includes an attractive female, Dr. Catherine Millstone, and Raj accidentally drinks a little too much alcohol, causing him to make a sexually explicit comment. To avoid Raj's deportation to India, Sheldon asks him to work for him and, after several disputes, he agrees.

Wanting to be the male "Indira Gandhi of particle astrophysics," Raj researches dark matter. With Sheldon, he explores the string theory implications of gamma rays from dark matter annihilations and considers methods of optimizing a detector for 500 GeV particles to look for the annihilation spectrum resulting from dark matter collisions in space. While Sheldon argues that slow-moving xenon doesn't produce ultra-violet light, Koothrappali posits that xenon can emit the tell-tale ultra-violet light from dark matter collisions, potentially negating a series of dark matter discoveries, and points to neutron scattering data.

Characterization
Originally from India, Raj is slightly clueless about American culture and idioms, and dislikes Indian food and his home country. Sheldon even disputes his knowledge of Indian customs and Hinduism, and reveals Raj's native language is English, while he seems to speak fluent Hindi. Raj stated that the reason he puts up with Sheldon is so that he could be reborn as a "well-hung billionaire with wings", according to his Hindu belief of being rewarded after reincarnation for suffering willingly; to Raj, karma is "practically Newtonian". He hates Indian music; however, he does appreciate the Indian lullabies his mother sang to him, and the catchiness of Hindi phrases, two mentioned phrases being "जो जी करे कर" - That’s Hindi for "whatever floats your boat;" and "Fever 104, बहुत अच्छा संगीत के मौजूदा घर. That means: Fever 104, home of the really good current music."

On the rare occasions when he actually gets homesick, he picks up the latest issue of Bombay Badonkadonks and performs Bollywood dancing. He is hypocritically sensitive to others' racist jokes about India, due to he himself not above making derogatory remarks about India, or, in his view, "Gandhi-ville". Raj also claims he can hold out from noxious gases because he grew up in India. Raj likes to say that he comes from the "exotic" subcontinent of India and had to overcome poverty and prejudice, to make himself appear interesting and mystical, especially when he is womanizing. More often than not, he likes to be associated with Slumdog Millionaire, except when Howard's mother says it. Much like how Howard rarely follows kosher, Rajesh eats beef and believes that some of the Hindu Code of Manu is crazy.

He has the recognized psychological condition selective mutism, a social anxiety disorder which renders him unable to talk to women (with the exception of family members, who are seemingly unaware of his condition, and deaf women), although he quickly learns that he is able to surpass this problem by consuming alcohol-containing foods and medicine, or experimental anti-anxiety medication. Consequently, the alcohol alters his nature and the medications tend to have side effects, such as involuntary face and hand motions, loss of rationality, or jovially stripping naked in public without cognizance of its inappropriate nature. Raj is also able to speak in the presence of women if they are part of a crowd, if he thinks he has been drinking alcohol (under a placebo effect), or if he is unaware of their presence. Raj has noted, however, that this is an improvement over his previous affliction, in which the presence of women would cause him to lose bladder control; this was mostly remedied by meditation methods of ancient Indian gurus. Rajesh still has a "nervous bladder", in the sense that he gets an urge to relieve himself when under stress.

He complains that he is lonely, which leads to Raj hating himself and needing to be reassured of his value. While usually sweet, Raj sometimes smiles at his friends' misfortunes. Whenever Raj gets an idea or wants to say something slightly controversial in a conversation, he whispers it in Howard or someone else's ear whenever a woman is around. Howard does refuse to say it out loud because he finds it stupid, offensive, or inappropriate, but he ends up saying it anyway through scoffing at Raj. He also has arguments with Howard often, being akin to those of a married couple. He is noted for using "gangsta" slang, such as "fo' shizzle" and repeatedly using the word "dude".

He enjoys reading DC Comics, as do his friends, but he dislikes Aquaman. Raj often obsesses over almost-insignificant details in fiction, such as how toilets work in Atlantis, the possible symbolism of ponytails in Avatar, whether Wolverine's prostate is made of adamantium, what zombies would eat if humanity was exterminated, how vampires would shave themselves since they can't see their reflections, etc. He has experienced gaming addiction and, like Howard, he idolizes Stephen Hawking. Unlike the other guys, Raj has shown great interest in some non-geeky things like John Grisham novels and Archie comics, the latter being shared with Zack. Raj also has an interest in a number of books and TV shows which are generally targeted towards the female demographic, such as Twilight, The Good Wife, Grey's Anatomy, Sex and the City, Eat, Pray, Love, and Bridget Jones's Diary. He is normally seen wearing a layered combination of a shirt, a sweater vest, and a windbreaker with khakis and skate shoes; he wore a red cap in the Pilot.

Family
Raj always communicates with his parents, Dr. V.M. and Mrs. Koothrappali back in India via webcam. They constantly try to arrange dates for him. Raj's parents want their son to marry a woman of Indian descent and give them grandchildren. Mrs. Koothrappali is especially worried that despite Raj being old enough to marry, the closest they have to a daughter-in-law is "that Jewish boy," Howard. When they become meddling or judgmental, he often "brings his parents" into Leonard and Sheldon's apartment via his MacBook Pro, to seek his friends' support in the discussion. Like his "baby sister" Priya, whom he is very protective of, Raj calls his parents "mummy" and "daddy".

Despite Raj's claims that he grew up in poverty, his friends like to remind him that he comes from a very wealthy background. His father is a gynecologist, drives a Bentley, and has a house full of servants, two of them children. Raj later admits this, saying they are very wealthy. His parents say this too, believing they have nothing to complain about as they are very rich in a very poor country. In The Wiggly Finger Catalyst, it is revealed that his parents are actually billionaires, as Sheldon claims that Raj's family's estimated wealth is 'halfway between Bruce Wayne and Scrooge McDuck', a reference to Forbes: The Fictional 15.

Not much of Raj's family is known so far. Raj comes from a family of six children; Raj is mentioned to have an older brother in one episode, who, according to Raj, gave him his 'Patang' (fighter kite). His older brother appears to among three brothers, according to Raj's statement in The Hot Troll Deviation. It was also in this episode when Raj claimed that he has two sisters, one of them Priya.

Raj's cousin Sanjay Koothrappali works in a Call Center run by AT&T. In The Guitarist Amplification, Raj tried to avoid going to his wedding, but eventually accepted his parents' offer.

Another cousin, Venkatesh (who appeared in The Precious Fragmentation), works as a lawyer in Mumbai. He has poor negotiation skills, even admitting that he is useless when Raj was trying to negotiate for a jet ski.

In The Griffin Equivalency, Rajesh points out that his limo is bigger than the house that his grandfather grew up in and has more food too, suggesting that his family was not always wealthy.

In The Alien Parasite Hypothesis, Raj mentions that Type 2 diabetes runs in his family, but he has no symptoms so far.

Leonard Hofstadter


Leonard and Raj meet at the University in The Staircase Implementation. Made clear in The Jerusalem Duality, both Raj and Howard like Leonard. Though, Raj takes delight in Leonard's problems with Penny and becomes somewhat adversarial with him when he dates his sister, Priya. Raj feels jealous when Leonard and Howard use his idea for fun and exclude him. Koothrappali has said that Leonard only hangs out with him if he has no other options, and has missed him. When Sheldon and Penny were indisposed, Leonard took the very appreciative Raj with him to Switzerland for a visit to the Large Hadron Collider. They normally try to help each other.

Sheldon Cooper


When they first meet in The Staircase Implementation, Raj tells Sheldon that the group is trying to get away from him. Raj has an admirable toleration towards Sheldon's insufferable attitude, possibly because of religious reasons. Albeit, Sheldon once tried to cut off Raj from his circle of friends to make room for Barry Kripke and because Raj got one answer for  his questionnaire wrong. Raj was terrified at the prospect of losing Sheldon as a friend, and later worries whether he is merely the "treasured acquaintance." Sheldon hates it when Raj is talking in his ear, although he does appreciate Raj's words. Whenever Raj is upset, Sheldon brings him a hot beverage to console him, as is common in the Cooper household. In The Roommate Transmogrification, Raj proves to be a better roommate to Sheldon than Leonard was, as he goes out of his way to impress him. Considering Raj a good friend, Sheldon enjoys the ethnic diversity he brings about in the group and the fact that he  too likes monkeys and trains. In the episode The Pirate Solution, when Raj's research hits a dead end, Sheldon offers Raj a chance to work for him, which he later accepts. Since then, Raj has been working for Sheldon, and they occasionally clash. Raj maintains that he does not work for Sheldon, but with him and Sheldon agrees on  the opposite, making Raj as the person who works for/with Sheldon.



Howard Wolowitz
Howard is Raj's best friend; since the first season, they have always been very close and met about the same time they were introduced to Leonard and Sheldon. Raj usually comes to Howard's house for holidays such as Thanksgiving, and has sleepovers there, as well. He knows all of Howard's jokes and finds humor in mimicking Mrs. Wolowitz. Rajesh is sometimes sensitive to Howard's cultural stereotyping as well as his perceived inability to recognize when he is upset. They are practically inseparable, maintaining certain weekly routines together and serving as wingmen to each other. Although Raj and Howard are heterosexual, their relationship and interaction sometimes resembles that of a couple, which resulted in Leonard's mother, Beverly Hofstadter, calling their relationship an "ersatz homosexual marriage". Despite the denials, Raj amusingly still takes up a stereotypical "female" role in arguments with Howard, for example, accusing him of deserting him for any opportunity to speak with an attractive woman. During Howard's launch in The Countdown Reflection, both he and Howard's wife Bernadette express their love for Howard and hold hands.

Penny
Penny is the closest female friend that Raj has, though he is only able to talk to her when he is drunk. Penny sometimes tries to make Raj speak, but mostly feels sorry for him, such as by calling him a strange little man, damaged, and even kissing him on the cheek, while Raj believes her to be considerate of him. There are times where his relationship with Penny becomes less than platonic - particularly in The Griffin Equivalency, where he misinterprets her going with him to an award ceremony as an act of romance rather than friendship and introduces Penny to his parents as his "new squeeze" while he was drunk. He tried to apologize by note, but Penny forced him to say the apology while sober. In The Roommate Transmogrification, Raj and Penny hooked up while they were drunk, and, while they were leaving the bedroom, ran into Howard, Leonard, and Sheldon. In The Skank Reflex Analysis, Raj reveals to Penny that they did not have sex; instead, Raj ejaculated prematurely when Penny was helping him put his condom on  and they fell asleep. Raj asks Penny not to tell anyone about this, to which Penny agrees. They accept to go back to being just friends. She agreed that he could tell others that "their light shone too quickly and brightly", but couldn't tell people that he "ruined her for white guys".

Romantic
Unlike the other main characters, Raj's romantic relationships have never been very serious or lasting, mostly due to his inability to speak to women. He has had a number of one-night-stands and brief dates. Impressively though, Raj was the first one amongst the four to get laid within the series in The Middle Earth Paradigm, at Penny's Halloween party. He is much more successful in casual sex than the more sexually aggressive Howard, and, amongst the guys, has great appeal to extremely attractive women. He has a big crush on Howard's fiancee, Bernadette Rostenkowski, who has said how wonderful a man he is and has called him a "cutie pie", much like Penny.

Lalita Gupta (Sarayu Rao)
One of Raj's female childhood acquaintances, Lalita Gupta used to be fat. She also kicked him in the samosas (testicles) and called him untouchable. In spite of this, Raj's parents thought it would be a good idea to set them up on a date. Raj discovered that alcohol (grasshopper cocktail) is able to help him suppress his selective mutism but being drunk made him obnoxious. As a result: he generally weirded out Lalita. Sheldon, because of Lalita's resemblance to a beloved childhood fairy tale character, Princess Panchali, unintentionally "stole" Lalita from Raj causing him to get angry with Sheldon.

Missy Cooper (Courtney Henggeler)
In The Pork Chop Indeterminacy, Sheldon's fraternal twin sister, Missy, came to Pasadena. Raj at the time was using an experimental drug to help with his selective mutism. Leonard, Howard and Raj were all attracted to her and after hitting on her too much (causing her to hide at Penny's for the night) and fighting over the "right" to ask her out, they decide to just ask her out individually. After both Leonard and Howard's attempts failed, Raj got his turn. Inconveniently, as he waited for her at Penny's door, the drugs began wearing off and despite Missy's implied interest in Raj, (saying "Hi cutie pie, I was hoping you'd show up") Raj was unable to ask her out and walked away.

Summer Glau
In The Terminator Decoupling, when Sheldon, Leonard, Howard, and Raj were on a train to San Francisco, the latter three tried talking to sci-fi actress Summer Glau. After drinking what he thought was a beer, Raj talked to Summer, being flirty and smooth and she took a liking to him. He said Slumdog Millionaire was based off of his life story and revealed his knowledge of astronomy. When Howard pointed out that his beer was non-alcoholic, Raj stopped in the middle of his conversation, was embarrassed and rushed away from Summer without saying any more.

Abby (Danica McKellar)
In the episode The Psychic Vortex, Leonard and Howard went on a double date with their respective girlfriends, leaving a lonely Raj with only an indifferent Sheldon. Raj insists on Sheldon helping him score with a girl at a University Mixer. After presenting Sheldon with a "Limited Edition Green Lantern Lantern" and a "Incredible Hulk Hands signed by Stan Lee" on two separate occasions, Sheldon agreed to be Raj's wingman, helping him score with Abby. It is not known what happened to her after that episode.

Dr. Elizabeth Plimpton (Judy Greer)
In The Plimpton Stimulation, Dr. Plimpton was welcomed as a guest of Sheldon's for a few days while considering taking a position at the University. Incredibly promiscuous, she shows interest in Raj immediately after meeting him despite having slept with Leonard the previous night and sitting next to him at the time. That evening, Raj was hosting Dr. Plimpton but when Leonard and Howard show up, she immediately suggests they join Raj and her. Raj directs his friends so they can leave and spends the night with Dr. Plimpton.

Angela (Tiffany Dupont)
Rajesh and Sheldon met Angela at a coffee shop while Raj was trying to test an experimental social anxiety drug. Raj told her she was very beautiful when she asked why he was staring, and flattered, she liked his accent, stating she was interested in going to India. As she welcomed him sitting with her, Raj introduced them as Dr. Rajesh Koothrappali and Dr. Sheldon Cooper, scientists who like to observe, and dismissed Sheldon off to buy a scone. Koothrappali complemented her name, citing its etymology, to which she responded he was cute. However, a side effect of the medication caused him to begin stripping, which scared her away, while he told Sheldon he was being rude and attempted to continue with her saying she had the expressive face of an actress.

Emily (Katie Leclerc)
In The Wiggly Finger Catalyst, Penny thought she found the perfect match for Raj by hooking him up with a woman who is deaf, Emily. Raj made very obnoxious remarks during their first date, but translator Howard would sign something else to Emily as to make him not look like a jerk. However, it turns out she liked Raj only for his money and left him when she found out his parents would cut their financial support if they continued to see each other.

Siri (Becky O'Donohue)
After Raj buys a new iPhone 4S in the The Beta Test Initiation, he develops a peculiar relationship with his phone's voice command personal assistant, Siri. Contrary to his usual inability to speak to women directly, Raj is able to address her, as she is a mere voice. Whenever Raj inquires about an activity he wishes to engage in or a destination, she provides suggestions (like a wine selection for a dinner party) or a list of possible locales, of which a subset is emphasized due to proximity. In reaction to Raj, Siri is able to accept compliments, respond to inquiries about her well-being, and display emotions, like gratitude. Upon Raj's request to be called "sexy", Siri complies and Raj, in turn, refers to her as "darling". Raj appears to be actually dating Siri by taking her places, having human conversations with her and buying her gifts. However, Raj has a dream that he goes to meet Siri in the form of a real woman, but, of course, when she turns around, he can't speak to her. Thus, an offer to make love to her is unable to be fulfilled. He then wakes up screaming "NOOOOO!"

Trivia

 * Raj is 30 years old. He was born on October 6, 1981.
 * Raj is the only one of the four (Howard, Leonard, himself and Sheldon) who has a present father figure. Leonard, Howard, and Sheldon's parents are only mentioned, but Raj sees his father with his mother through his webcam.
 * He has a Ph.D. in Astrophysics.
 * Raj is 5 feet 8 inches tall, the only one of the gang with average height as Leonard and Howard are 5'4" and 5'5" (short), Penny is 5'5" (the average height of a woman is 5'4") and Sheldon is 6'2" (tall).
 * He lives in an apartment, which he calls his "Raj Mahal".
 * Raj is not at all serious about his Hindu faith and eats beef, which is frowned upon by most Hindus.
 * Raj, much like Howard, despises many of Sheldon's antics, and the two managed to get Sheldon on a date with Amy Farrah Fowler on a dating website in The Lunar Excitation, much to Sheldon's dismay.
 * Raj's case of selective mutism was first evident in the Pilot episode.
 * "Koothrappali" is a surname from southern India; however Raj claims that he is from New Delhi, suggesting either that his family moved from their native area, or ignorance on the part of the creators.
 * Whenever Raj gets an idea or wants to say something slightly controversial in a conversation, he whispers it in Wolowitz's ear if a woman is around. Wolowitz never wants to say it out loud because he finds it stupid or offensive, but he ends up saying it anyway through scoffing Raj. Sheldon hates him talking in his ear altogether, although he does appreciate Raj's words.
 * He regularly communicates with his parents (V. M. Koothrappali and Mrs. Koothrappali) back in India via webcam. When they become meddling or judgmental, he often "brings his parents" into Leonard and Sheldon's apartment via his MacBook Pro, to seek his friends' support in the discussion.
 * He has a mug that says 'World's Best Astrophysicist'. It was given to him by Sheldon.
 * His father is a gynecologist and drives a Bentley.
 * Rajesh often has married-couple-like arguments with Wolowitz and, when nervous, often whispers into his ear leaving him to translate to everyone else.
 * As with Wolowitz, the others in his circle of friends often refer to him by his surname. He frequently wears a purple jacket and a sweater vest.
 * Rajesh performs vocals when playing Rock Band (albeit extremely badly), which could possibly be a joke because he suffers from selective mutism. Though in a Season 2 promotional photo, he is playing with a guitar controller, so he is either playing the bass or the lead.
 * He despises Guitar Hero because he feels it is lame, though he still plays it.
 * Raj is considered the attractive one of the group because women find him foreign and exotic, plus his selective mutism makes him a very "good listener."
 * He works with/for Sheldon.
 * He has been featured in People Magazine ("30 Under 30 to Watch!").
 * He has a MySpace account.
 * He has problems talking to women unless he is drunk. In The Porkchop Indeterminacy, he tried an experimental medication for his problem but stopped taking it because of the side effects. In The Wildebeest Implementation, he tried another medication he got from a friend at Caltech's school of pharmacology, but gave up on it too because it removed his inhibitions to the point that he stripped naked in the middle of a coffee shop.
 * Unlike the other guys, Raj has shown great interest in some non-geeky and sometimes feminine things, such as Grey's Anatomy, The Good Wife, Sex and the City, Eat Pray Love, Bridget Jones' Diary and John Grisham's novels. He also likes Archie comics along with Zack and likes Twilight.
 * Raj is addicted to internet pornography.
 * He dislikes Aquaman, as he is always chosen to dress as Aquaman when they have a costume competition.
 * Raj often obsesses over almost-insignificant details in fiction, such as how toilets in Atlantis in Aquaman work, the possible symbolism of ponytails in Avatar, whether Wolverine's prostate is made of adamantium, what zombies would eat if humanity were exterminated, how vampires would shave themselves if they can't see their reflections, etc.
 * English is his native language, though he speaks fluent Hindi.
 * Raj doesn't need to be drunk to talk to women: he just has to think he is drunk (Placebo Effect), as shown in The Terminator Decoupling.
 * Raj takes pilates classes and claims to, as a result, have very well-trained abs.
 * In one scene, when his parents arranged a blind date, he refused and Sheldon explains that Indian arranged marriages result in a peaceful bond. Raj then says "I know my own culture", leaving Sheldon silenced.
 * In one episode, Sheldon joins Penny in jogging, and Howard tells Penny that Raj always watches her from his car with binoculars.
 * Like the common nerd, Raj was bullied as a child. He once got a penis drawn on his forehead on his first day of cricket camp, with the testicles drawn around the eyes. One person who bullied him was Lalita Gupta, who used to kick him in the nuts and call him "untouchable." They dated as adults, where a drunk Raj insults her by saying she used to be so, so fat as a child.
 * His favorite number is 5,318,008. The reason for that is that when entered in a calculator, turning the calculator upside-down will read "BOOBIES".
 * Raj is terrified of bugs. As he is also afraid of women, Sheldon jokes that ladybugs must render him catatonic.
 * He was angry when Leonard and Priya decided to date again which means he is overprotective towards his baby sister.
 * In The Roommate Transmogrification, Raj had a drunken sexual encounter with Penny, which they both apparently regretted instantly. (It is later on revealed, in the premiere of season 5, that that is not what actually happened in the end.)
 * It is revealed in two episodes during season 4 that Raj has a huge crush on Bernadette.
 * Sheldon revealed that Raj's family is not just rich, but is "Richie Rich" rich.
 * He is afraid of spiders, which is revealed in The Alien Parasite Hypothesis.
 * Even though Raj does not keep kosher, he does take certain aspects of his religion seriously and has brought up Hindu gods more than once in a conversation.
 * Raj is shown as being unable to talk with women, however, he can talk to his female family members such as Mrs Koothrapalli and his sister Priya.
 * Raj is the group's "historian", being able to keep record of many actions - for instance, in The Hawking Excitation, Raj was able to recount how many times Sheldon has begged in the past.
 * Raj is addicted to pedicures.
 * Raj has had one threesome in his life. It was with Howard and a 200 pound girl in a Sailor Moon costume during a trip to Comic-Con
 * According to Lakshmi, the girl Raj goes out on a date with in The Transporter Malfunction, there is a rumor back in New Delhi that Raj is comfortable in a sari.