A nice gay romance between Dopinder and Kristoff.
In recent memory, we have gotten some delightful gay romcoms like “Bros” and “Red, White & Royal Blue,” and “A Nice Indian Boy” is the latest addition to this roster. But this one is given an Indian spin, as the main character is Indian, and his lover is an American raised by Indian parents. But do we need to go in a certain trope that Indian parents would disapprove of this relationship or their life choices? No, we don’t, and it’s quite relaxing.
We also have that kind of notion in the form of gay actors Karan Soni and Jonathan Groff, and based on Madhuri Shekar’s play, this film version likes to be sweet and lovable, but it also likes to be different and consistent.
We meet Naveen Gavaskar (Soni), a gay Indian doctor, who has his bitterness and cynicism regarding romance. His conservative parents (Harish Patel and Zarna Garg) know that he’s gay, but they’ve never seen him be gay, and his sister Arundhathi (Sunita Mani) has just gotten married and seems like the perfect type.
Maybe one day he can win his parents’ love with an Indian boy. However, his crush turns out to be an American freelance photographer named Jay Kurundkar (Groff), who was adopted by Indian parents. Okay, maybe this could work out. At first, Naveen is cynical about their romance, and when it does take off (especially since they both love the same Bollywood movie), he wonders how his family will take it. Especially since his father thinks that “freelance” means “unemployed.”
Does that premise like to be awkward or degrading like it probably would be if it was going for the commercial approach? No, it doesn’t, which is refreshing. Besides, “A Nice Indian Boy” likes to take different angles with it. The screenplay by Eric Randall chooses not to resort to lies or misunderstandings, but honesty and consistency. Granted, it’s not laugh out loud funny, but there are some good chuckles. And plus, I’m mostly seeing this movie for the choices and sweetness the story has to offer or at least acknowledge.
The movie also deals with a strained relationship between Naveen and his family. In fact, there’s one scene in particular when his mother becomes stressed that if she says anything that could sound negative, he would cut them out of his life. And he tears up that he would never do that. You can easily acknowledge the emotions within this moment, and what direction it’s given.
Soni has earned more attention with his Dopinder character in the “Deadpool” movies and his voice work in “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.” And in “A Nice Indian Boy,” he uses a certain tone and bitterness within his character that make us wonder why we should care about him. And I think it’s because he’s able to show us his true colors that makes him likable. This is also Groff’s first movie role since “Knock at the Cabin,” and he delivers with an honest sentimentally that allows him to connect with Soni and the people around him. And what I also appreciate about the supporting cast is that Mani, Patel, and Garg are all able to break free from tropes and play characters who have their emotional aspects. Mani’s character seems like she’s more self-congratulatory and perfect than Naveen, but whatever she’s dealing with proves that’s not the case here.
Directed by Roshan Sethi (the writer of “Call Jane” and creator of “The Resident”), the movie doesn’t exceed the limits of this story, but it does win us over and it looks and feels great doing so. And let’s try to ignore the fact that Justin Baldoni, who made and co-starred in “It Ends With Us,” is a producer on this film. We’ll save the defamation between him and Blake Lively for another time.
In Select Theaters This Friday