Sitcoms are renowned for having tons of things faked, from on-screen accents to height via shoe lifts to faux baby bellies for characters' pregnancies. And 'The Big Bang Theory' was no different, except that Kunal Nayyar only had to fake one specific thing.
Does Kunal Nayyar Really Have An Accent?
The absolute biggest fan question is whether Raj has an accent in real life -- or if Kunal just put on an act for the show. Fans don't have to look far for this particular answer, though; Nayyar even wrote a book with a title that confirms that yes, his accent is real.
Can Kunal Nayyar Really Play The Guitar?
Another easy part of Kunal's turning into Raj for 'Big Bang' was the fact that he truly does play the guitar. In fact, sources confirm that he plays both electric and acoustic.
That's even more good news for the cast, because no one was forced to learn an instrument they'd never picked up before.
Still, there was at least one thing Kunal had to totally fake for the show.
Does Kunal Nayyar Wear A Toupee?
Because Kunal's hair was always so straight on the show, fans sometimes thought it looked a bit unnatural. Which led to speculation about whether Kunal wore a toupee for taping or not.
Yet in an interview, Nayyar once denied that he ever wore a toupee on set; he claims it was always his real hair.
There was also some speculation that Howard wore a wig, though Simon Helberg has seemingly confirmed that nope, he wore his own hair on set, too.
Did Raj Really Straighten His Hair?
On the show, Raj had a habit of straightening his hair, though his real locks were revealed during season 11. The fact that Kunal's hair always looked the same was part of the reason why fans suspected it was fake.
After all, upon seeing Kunal Nayyar in person (and out of character), fans realized his hair is always curly. So what gives?
In an interview, Nayyar explained that his naturally curly hair didn't work for the show because the cast couldn't get it to look the same every time with the curl in. That led them to come up with an alternate solution that also worked with the show's storyline.
So did Raj really straighten his hair? Yep -- Kunal Nayyar straightened his hair for every episode of seasons one through ten, so that his hair was the same for every scene, episode, and season until then.
It's quite the commitment, as anyone who's straightened their hair for a long time knows, but at least the process didn't damage Kunal's hair as much as, say, Ariana Grande's after years of bright-red hair dye.
And now that 'The Big Bang Theory' has ended, even if Kunal isn't happy with the conclusion, he gets to wear his hair however he wants.