Yes, My Accent Is Real: And Some Other Things I Haven't Told You

by Kunal Nayyar

Overview

In the spirit of Mindy Kaling’s bestseller Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? or Judd Apatow’s Sick in the Head, a collection of humorous, autobiographical essays from Kunal Nayyar, best known as Raj on CBS’s #1 hit comedy The Big Bang Theory.

Of all the charming misfits on television, there’s no doubt Raj from The Big Bang Theory—the sincere yet incurably geeky Indian astrophysicist—ranks among the misfittingest. Now, we meet the actor who is every bit as loveable as the character he plays on TV. In this revealing collection of essays written in his irreverent, hilarious, and self-deprecating voice, Kunal Nayyar traces his journey from a little boy in New Delhi who mistakes an awkward first kiss for a sacred commitment, gets nosebleeds chugging Coca-Cola to impress other students, and excels in the sport of badminton, to the confident, successful actor on the set of TV’s most-watched sitcom since Friends.

Going behind the scenes of The Big Bang Theory and into his personal experiences, Kunal introduces readers to the people who helped him grow, such as his James Bond-loving, mustachioed father. Kunal also walks us through his college years in Portland, where he takes his first sips of alcohol and learns to let loose with his French, 6’8” gentle-giant roommate, works his first-ever job for the university’s housekeeping department cleaning toilets for minimum wage, and begins a series of romantic exploits that go just about as well as they would for Raj. (That is, until he meets and marries a former Miss India in an elaborate seven-day event that we get to experience in a chapter titled “My Big Fat Indian Wedding.”)

Full of heart, but never taking itself too seriously, this witty collection of underdog tales follows a young man as he traverses two continents in search of a dream, along the way transcending culture and language (and many, many embarrassing incidents) to somehow miraculously land the role of a lifetime.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476761855
Publisher:	Atria Books
Publication date:	09/15/2015
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Kunal Nayyar was born in London and raised in New Delhi, India. He first came to the United States in 1999 to pursue a bachelor’s degree in business administration and went on to receive an MFA in acting from Temple University. Playing the character of Raj on The Big Bang Theory, he has been part of the ensemble since the show debuted in 2007. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Neha.

Read an Excerpt

Yes, My Accent Is Real

SOMETIMES PEOPLE ASK ME, “WHY are you writing a memoir? You’re only thirty-four.”

This is not a memoir. I’m not a president, or an astronaut, or a Kardashian.

This is a collection of stories from my life.

It is not an “I was born in . . .” type of book.

I was born in London and raised in New Delhi. When I was eighteen, after maneuvering my way through a billion people and a few cows,I I moved to Portland, Oregon, where I studied business, cleaned toilets, lied my way into an IT job, and fell in love twenty-seven times. I went on to get my master’s in acting in Philadelphia, auditioned for a play in the basement of an Apple Store in New York City, and spent four hours a day commuting on a bus in Los Angeles. Somehow this crazy journey landed me on a little television show called The Big Bang Theory.

Here are some things that happened to me along the way.

I. Obligatory cow joke. The first of many.

Table of Contents

Preface 1

Everything I Know About Kissing I Learned from Winnie Cooper 3

My A-to-Z Guide to Getting Nookie in New Delhi During High School 14

Made in England 19

King of Shuttlecocks 21

Holiday Traditions Part 1: Rakhi 33

A Thought Recorded on an Aeroplane Cocktail Napkin 35

Why Being Indian Is Cool 36

Dinners with Dad 38

Dziko and Me 52

The Art of the Head Bobble 66

Garbage, Man 68

Holiday Traditions Part 2: Dussehra 74

The Forbidden Kiss 76

Chaos Theory 83

Judgment Day in Boise 85

A Thought Recorded on an Aeroplane Cocktail Napkin 97

The Girl I Went to Mass For 98

Kumar Ran a Car 103

Lollipops and Crisps 111

The Prince and the Pauper 127

How I Knew 136

Kunal's Twelve Quick Thoughts on Dating 146

Holiday Traditions Part 3: Holi 150

Nina, Why? 152

A Thought Recorded on an Aeroplane Cocktail Napkin 165

Love's Labour's Lost 166

The Waiting Period (Extended Mix) 176

James Bond and the Mouse 189

Always Joy 196

Thirteen Things I've Learned from Playing an Astrophysicist on TV 199

A Thought Recorded on an Aeroplane Cocktail Napkin 207

And Then I Fell in Love 208

Puppies 218

My Big Fat Indian Wedding 219

Holiday Traditions Part 4: Diwali 238

Good-bye 241

A Thought Recorded on an Aeroplane Cocktail Napkin 242

Acknowledgments 243

Editorial Reviews

Employing a charming, self-deprecating tone, [Nayyar] writes that he’s too young for a memoir, so these anecdotes are merely stories from his life – humorous, insightful, heartfelt, and heartwarming autobiographical essays."

Booklist

Anyone who has ever had an awkward childhoodor teenage moment will be able to relate to the situations Kunal went through,and this is one of those rare not-a-memoirs which is honest, and shows theauthor’s own flaws. Rather than asking ‘why me,’ Kunal owns his mistakesand learns from them, which is rather refreshing.

100PercentRock.com

Hilarious and inspiring.

Entertainment Weekly

An international tale of fame and fortune, Yes, My Accent is Real could be The Big Bang Theory drug you’re aching for."

Flavorpill

Employing a charming, self-deprecating tone, [Nayyar] writes that he’s too young for a memoir, so these anecdotes are merely stories from his life – humorous, insightful, heartfelt, and heartwarming autobiographical essays."

Booklist

09/15/2015
As Nayyar says himself, this book isn't so much a memoir as a collection of stories and lessons learned. The 32-year-old actor details his youth in India, his family, and his shift from business major to actor during his college years in Portland, OR. He takes readers through his relatable awkward stage into his blossoming confidence in regards to life and love. As a child and young man, Nayyar fell in and out of love at the drop of a hat, but this trait just makes him more endearing. His dogged persistence in pursuing acting as his passion is admirable to the end. Readers will feel a great deal of satisfaction when they read firsthand his experience landing a role on The Big Bang Theory—even though they'll see it coming, it's still a pleasure to read how such a lovely man got what he deserved. The author's charming style will keep readers invested, while the portrait of his family is beguiling in its sweetness and sincerity. VERDICT A must for those who enjoyed Mindy Kaling's Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? or Judd Apatow's Sick in the Head.—Kristen Droesch, Library Journal

Library Journal

2015-07-27
An amiable collection of reminiscences by the Indian actor about girls, school, jobs, family, and acting. Though Nayyar is best (or even only) known for his comic role in the television series The Big Bang Theory, this book debut isn't a collection of extended bits and sketches, like so many by comedians are. The author doesn't try too hard to be funny, which is part of his charm. Nayyar admits from the outset that he hasn't lived long enough or accomplished enough to justify a memoir: "I'm not a president, or an astronaut, or a Kardashian. This is a collection of stories from my life." Its target readership is fans of the series and his geeky character featured on it, but its conversational tone will also appeal to anyone who wants to read about a regular guy, Indian style. Even there, his life was saturated with American media, as reflected in the opening essay, "Everything I Know About Kissing I Learned from Winnie Cooper," which tells how watching The Wonder Years and becoming infatuated with its young actress while growing up prepared him for his own first kiss and how life came full circle when his acting career gave him the chance to kiss the real actress. When he pursued his education in America, he initially majored in business and planned a marketing career, though he dabbled in acting in order to meet girls. As the author tells it, his romantic life existed mainly in his head, though his first real girlfriend was an acting student who was the love of the campus, and his marriage to a former Miss India ends the book. Yes, Nayyar's been a lucky guy whose first real audition resulted in the big break that brought him to TV and resulted in this book, but his explanation reflects his experience: "Every person has a different journey. But no one has an easy one." Nice guy; nice book.

Kirkus Reviews