Rajesh Koothrappali

Rajesh Ramayan "Raj" Koothrappali (born 6 October, 1981) is a character on the CBS television series ''The Big Bang Theory. ''He is portrayed by Kunal Nayyar.

Raj is an astrophysicist in the Physics Department at Caltech. His best friend is Howard Wolowitz. His main characteristic is a case of selective mutism, which does not allow him to talk to women outside of his family. He can only talk to women when intoxicated by alcohol.