Director Roshan Sethi recently compared his new romantic comedy, A Nice Indian Boy, to the classic My Big Fat Greek Wedding. While this is an apt comparison, I would argue that it is wrong. The new indie feature from Wayfarer Studios and Blue Harbor Entertainment is better. Original, funny, and heartwarming, it’s the kind of movie you want to take home and introduce to your mother.
Based on the play Madhuri Shekar, A Nice Indian Boy follows Dr. Naveen Gavaskar (Karan Soni), a gay Hindi man trying to reconcile his sexuality with his identity and culture. After striking out on the apps, he meets Jay (Jonathan Groff) at his local temple and runs into him again during Picture Day at the hospital. Naveen immediately accepts when Jay invites him out to the Bollywood classic Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, but his date’s knowledge and fondness for his culture turn him off rather than on.
See, Jay is white but was adopted into an Indian household. Despite this familiarity, Naveen struggles with the idea that their relationship could go past the first date, let alone to meet his parents. His mother (Zarna Garg) cares loudly for her children (indicated by her staunch opinions of gay reality television). At the same time, his father (Harish Patel) is more soft spoken and doesn’t seem to fully accept Naveen’s sexuality. His sister, Arundhathi (Sunita Mani), had been married for a few years but is clearly keeping her unhappiness away from her family. His struggles to communicate and connect with them soon start to manifest in his personal life, causing comical misunderstandings and hard conversations.
There is no bad performance in this movie. Sunita Mani brings humanity to her role as the ostracized sister who has done everything by the book. Peter S. Kim brings a scene-stealing twist to the gay best friend. Zarna Garg and Harish Patel play Naveen’s reserved parents with comedic style, but never fall into stereotype. Some of the film’s greatest moments come from Patel’s sweet delivery and character arc.
But it is Karan Soni and Jonathan Groff that make this movie. While Jay isn’t fully developed as a character, Groff plays him with commanding force and understanding. Soni makes Naveen’s journey to acceptance compelling and charming, even in his most awkward moments. If Soni gets you watching, everyone onscreen gets you to stay.
Worth noting is Sethi and Soni’s real-life relationship, which adds a layer of authenticity to the story. They worked together on 2022’s underrated 7 Days, which also starred the latter and followed him as he entered a relationship during the COVID lockdown. While this film was not written by them, (Eric Randall and original playwright Madhuri Shekar are the credited screenwriters), A Nice Indian Boy feels even more personal as this story highlights the many obstacles a gay Indian-American child goes through.
To be clear, this isn’t a coming-out story, but rather a celebration of what comes after coming out. It’s one of many themes A Nice Indian Boy highlights that don’t get representation in media. There’s a saying in comedy that the more specific a story is, the more universal a story is, and Sethi, the writers, and all involved utilize that ideology to create a relatable crowdpleaser you’ll want to watch over and over again.
A Nice Indian Boy is now playing in select theaters from Wayfarer Studios. Watch the trailer below.
