One Indian American’s look at NBC’s Outsourced

I didn’t know what to think about NBC’s Outsourced. A sitcom about a call center in Mumbai? And not a tech support call center but a call center for a novelties company that sells whoopee cushions, motorized humping dogs, and toilet mugs? Yeah, that doesn’t sound like a crappy half-hour of television.

Sure, we Indians are inherently comical with our head bobbing and funny accents and arranged marriages. It’s almost too easy to make fun of us; it’s so easy, it comes off as lazy. (Page 279 of the Comedy Survival Guide: “When you run out of jokes, do an Apu impression. Audience will laugh on cue.”)

I expected Outsourced to employ lazy humor like that, but it surprised me. Most Indian TV characters don’t resemble anyone I have ever met. They are often completely de-Indianized (think Kutner from House, Kate from Sanctuary, Malik from V) or constructed of cardboard (Raj from The Big Bang Theory). This isn’t necessarily bad, but I imagine these characters could be more interesting if they were written by people who knew something about the way Indians think, talk, and live.

Outsourced is refreshing because, even though many of the characters are over the top (as is to be expected in a comedy), they are recognizably Indian. If you tone them down, if you lower the Comedy Volume from eleven to maybe four, you’ll discover real, believable characters like Madhuri, the super shy girl with big eyes, who, turns out, knows how to drive a hard bargain and loves to sing (she reminds me a lot of Jayma Mays). See, I know girls like that! And Asha, the girl with perfect hair and stylish clothes, who is beautiful, smart, kind … and yeah, a tad snooty. I know girls like that. And there’s Gupta, the overly talkative goofball; Manmeet, the Romeo who wants to be all cool and Western like his American boss, Todd; Rajiv, the overly ambitious and arrogant assistant manager; even the Sikh dude (tall bearded guy in the turban, who stomps out of the room every time Todd makes an insensitive remark) — these characters display authentic Indian traits and attitudes, magnified under the lens of comedy.

If anything, I want to see better development of the white characters. Todd is a way-too-generic white guy, nice but culturally ignorant, enjoys football, sex, and teaching Indians about the worst qualities of American culture (such as the wearing of styrofoam cheese on one’s head — yeah, I had to work in a jab at Green Bay Packers fans, the lucky bastards). Tonya is the Aussie chick, who served originally as a foil for Asha, as Todd was attracted both to the sexually loose white girl and the conservative Indian girl; after Todd chooses Tonya, she gets a little more character development (but just a little — hopefully there will be more). And Charlie — the other American guy who gives Todd advice about adapting to life in India — he’s like a weird incarnation of the Great White Hunter: super strange and disturbing, but lovable.

Clearly, I like Outsourced – but is it just me? I asked the CliqueClack team what they thought about the show, and Brett is the only one who watches it regularly.

BRETT: I’ve found it hit and miss. A lot of the stuff with Todd and Charlie has been funny, and things have improved since they put Todd with Tonya. The Todd/Asha thing never felt like anyone was quite sure what they were doing with it, and the sooner her wedding happens the better. Madhuri has also had some good bits. If there’s one big drawback, a little Gupta goes a long way.

If anyone is curious, the first four Outsourced episodes (5.99m/2.9) following The Office are just ahead of the first four Parks & Rec episodes (5.49m/2.8) in the ratings. Looking at all 9:30 Outsourced episodes (5.32m/2.5), I would guess it will be a coin-flip between the two shows when all is said and done where ratings are concerned.

RUBY: Totally agree with you, especially regarding Todd/Tonya versus Todd/Asha. And Gupta … oh my. What I love about the show is that they get the little details right — the idiosyncracies of Indian culture and people. It doesn’t feel like a show written by non-Indians. I mean, there’s a huge difference between, say, a character like Raj Kuthrappali on The Big Bang Theory and Rajiv on Outsourced. Raj seems to represent what non-Indians find humorous about Indians. Rajiv may be cartoonish, but his character traits are so recognizably Indian — the blend of ambition and contempt for superiors veiled in obsequiousness. I don’t mind non-Indians poking fun at Indians, but at least do it intelligently. Any idiot can do a bad Apu accent, but it takes some insight into Indian culture to develop characters like Rajiv, Madhuri, and Asha.

BRETT: I should have mentioned Rajiv as well. They’ve done a good job with the ongoing gag of him trying to sabotage Todd. And a number of the exchanges between the two have been really funny. The recent bit with the V-day flowers was great.

KATIE: I saw one episode and was pretty bored. I’ve heard the movie it was based on was very clever and sweet, but I don’t think that translated into a series.

Well, there you have it. My take on Outsourced. What I really want to know is how you feel about the show. Vote in the poll, leave a comment, be heard.

Clacked by Ruby T.
on Feb 16, 2011 @ 14:00 EST5EDT