They say love is dead. Then, you come across a film like A Nice Indian Boy, and you feel, at least for a few hours, that there are still some rainbow sparks left to brighten up this bleak, doomed timeline we’re stuck in. Riffing off an oft-heard request uttered at many an Indian wedding, A Nice Indian Boy is a romantic comedy that examines the different meanings of love.
About A Nice Indian Boy
The synopsis for A Nice Indian Boy proudly proclaims that the “rom-com is back” because love is in the air in this utterly adorable story about an Indian-American man and his journey to love. Naveen Gavaskar (Karan Soni) is an unassuming doctor who hasn’t found love. Well, he hasn’t looked much, either. He comes from an Indian family who know he’s gay—but accepting his sexuality and witnessing it are a whole different ball game. It doesn’t help that Naveen is up against his perfect sister, Arundhati (Sunita Mani), who has a great job and has been married to the man her parents found her six years ago.
Naveen’s mother, Megha (Zarna Garg), is a freight train chatterbox, trying her level best to understand her gay son, but she has a truly unique way of going about it. And then there’s his father Archit (Harish Patel) who, well, he’s not the most communicative man out there, and it’s obvious Archit would rather ignore Naveen’s sexuality.
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Naveen wishes to bring home his own “nice Indian boy,” but what would that even look like? The question becomes even more complicated when he meets Jay Kurundkar (Jonathan Groff), a white boy with an Indian family. This is going to get complicated.
The Rom-Com Really Is Back
A Nice Indian Boy is adapted by director Roshan Sethi and writer Eric Randall from the play of the same name by Madhuri Shekar. Despite originating as a stage play, the film doesn’t suffer from being static or claustrophobic. While much of the story takes place indoors, we location-hop enough to get a sense of the wider world the characters live in.
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But all that is set dressing because this film is a laugh riot, a habitual awwww-inducer and a genuine rom-com. Is there a meet-cute? Check. Is there chemistry that makes you want to scream, “Just kiss!”? Absolutely. Are there complicated dynamics getting in the way? Oh, yeah, check that. Is there a ludicrously dramatic moment that makes you cry and cringe at the same time? You better believe it.
I attended the Toronto premiere of A Nice Indian Boy, and the screening was followed by a virtual Q&A with Sethi and Soni. Soni mentioned that Sethi deliberately wanted to marry the styles of Hollywood and Bollywood together in the film. There are huge swings in mood that Bollywood fans will be familiar with, but it’s tempered by the compact storytelling we’re used to in Hollywood fare.
The Characters
Of course, none of this would work if not for the characters. Soni is effortless as the reticent Naveen. He has such a winning presence that it’s hard not to watch him. And Soni’s chemistry with Groff is very believable. I was concerned about the inclusion of Groff in this film. He’s a great actor, there’s no doubt about that, but how does the sole white actor in the film fit with the Indian-origin cast? The answer is, seamlessly. Groff never hogs the frame and ably plays the gentle artist-type. But he put the work in—as Jay Kurundkar, Groff perfectly enunciates every Hindi word thrown his way. I’m so impressed.
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The supporting cast are such scene-stealers and crucial to the narrative. Sunita Mani as Arundhathi does such a great job of being unlikeable that the audience at my screening was literally yelling at her from their seats. Bollywood veteran Harish Patel plays Naveen’s father, Archit, and brings the understated Indian dad vibe while still being the surprising heart of the story.
But the star of the film is Zarna Garg as Naveen’s mother, Megha. This is Garg’s first feature film role, which is impossible to believe. She’s brilliant as the loud, overbearing, trying-too-hard, loves-too-much mom. Many Indians will see their own moms in Garg’s Megha.
Love Wins
A Nice Indian Boy works not only because we’ve been starved of good rom-coms that don’t centre the same kind of white heterosexual romances but because it’s more than just a gay romance. It’s a coming-to-terms film. For Naveen’s family, their acceptance of his sexuality is little more than lip service. But why they’re uncomfortable with Naveen being gay is an important conversation to be had.
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You can’t have an Indian romance without exploring arranged marriages. In the film, the success and failure of arranged marriages is interwoven with Naveen and Jay’s story of love. This adds another layer to the story, turning the tables on how Naveen views other people’s relationships.
In the end, A Nice Indian Boy is a story about love. It’s hilarious, cringy and sweet. Prepare to be dazzled. Prepare to cry. And prepare to laugh so hard that your belly aches. Rom-coms are truly back.
A Nice Indian Boy opened in theaters on April 4, 2025.
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