The Apu Trilogy 1995 film "My Family", the final scene is duplicated from the final scene of "Apur Sansar". Similar influences and references to the trilogy can be found, for example, in recent works such as "Sacred Evil", Key's 2004 visual novel "Clannad", Paul Auster's 2008 novel "Man in the Dark", the "Elements trilogy" of Deepa Mehta and even in films of Jean-Luc Godard. The technique of bounce lighting pioneered by Subrata Mitra, to recreate the effect of daylight on sets, has also had a profound influence on the development of cinematography. Ravi Shankar's soundtracks to the films were also a major influence
The Problem with Apu bit, Kondabolu criticizes voice actor Hank Azaria (who is of Sephardic Jewish descent), calling him "a white guy doing an impression of a white guy making fun of my father." Kondabolu went on to cite other portrayals of South Asians in mainstream television and film—such as a man eating monkey brains in "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" and an actor petting a stuffed mongoose in a metroPCS commercial—as racist. Kondabolu eventually decided to expand the one-minute segment about Apu into an hour-long documentary. "Simpsons" creator Matt Groening named Apu after the protagonist of Bengali filmmaker Satyajit Ray's acclaimed