Kunal Nayyar’s Raj couldn’t talk around women for the initial few seasons of The Big Bang Theory, which was based on a real person’s condition.
The Big Bang Theory impressed fans with a group of relatable nerds. Everyone in the group has got their ‘thing’ and for the first few seasons, Raj’s ongoing unique characteristic was him not being able to talk in front of women. Interestingly, creators Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady were inspired by a real person who had this condition of selective mutism around women.
However, Lorre and Prady’s initial plan to include this condition in the show was very different from what fans got with Raj. Kunal Nayyar did a brilliant job of portraying this characteristic, contributing to some of the rib-tickling moments in the series.
Raj’s selective mutism in The Big Bang Theory was based on a real person but it was very different
Kunal Nayyar‘s Raj couldn’t speak to women for the initial few seasons. The Big Bang Theory creator Bill Prady worked with a computer programmer in the ’80s who had a similar condition and he served as inspiration for the condition. Interestingly, the creators initially decided to go in a very different direction with this condition in the series.
During an interview with EW during the 15th anniversary of its inception, Prady shared that his computer programmer also served as an inspiration for most of Sheldon’s attributes. The selective mutism condition was also supposed to be Sheldon’s attribute. Prady shared with EW:
That attribute (selective mutism) actually belonged to the fellow who had most of Sheldon’s attributes as well. Somehow, in our discussions, that moved out of the Sheldon character and into Raj.
Prady further explained the attribute of his friend in detail, sharing that his friend would go completely silent whenever a woman entered the room. Prady shared that it was an anxiety condition as this guy was anxious around women. Prady shared:
It was a really interesting thing to watch because if we were talking and a woman came into the room, he would just stop talking. And then she would leave, and he would start talking again. Obviously, we started noticing it. It’s a real thing, selective mutism. It’s an anxiety condition. He was just so anxious around women that his solution was to not talk.
Chuck Lorre added how Penny had a huge role in helping Raj with the condition. In the sixth season finale, Raj was finally able to talk to Penny without the influence of alcohol. It was a funny scene, but it was a major social transition for the character.
The Big Bang Theory creators never intended the attributes to be a malicious joke
Chuck Lorre further shared that the character’s ongoing attributes in the show were never intended as a malicious joke. Lorre shared that these characters were often alienated and people could identify with their pain and struggles. He shared with EW:
These characters were struggling to participate in the world and it was hard and even painful to do so. That’s something we’ve all felt and can understand. I think most people can identify with it on some level, that alienation, even popular people.
Prady added that they tried to break the popular depiction of nerds in the media, which was very homogenous. He shared that exploring the nerd world was interesting to him as these guys had interests in very random things.
