‘A Nice Indian Boy' is an even nicer romantic comedy

'You're next,' everyone tells Naveen, a phrase he warns us about in his narration. Everyone expects him to be the 'nice Indian boy' somebody's daughter brings home. It's who every parent says their daughter should marry.
But what will happen when Naveen brings home the boy instead?
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Zarna Garg as Megha Gavaskar in 'A Nice Indian Boy.'
Courtesy of Levantine Films and Wayfarer Studios
Naveen's parents, Megha (Zarna Garg) and Archit (Indian acting legend, Harish Patel) know their son is gay, but they rarely talk about it. Though Archit is bottled up about his feelings, he and his wife try to understand their only son's sexuality. They accomplish this by watching Out, a gay-themed network that runs shows like the salaciously-titled 'DILF.'
Six years after Arundhathi's wedding, Naveen has become a doctor himself. He works with Paul (Peter S. Kim), a raunchy lothario who'd be the sassy gay friend in a straight rom-com. Paul is constantly dragging Naveen out to meet people, but as a hilarious texting montage shows, Naveen is an absolute disaster at dating.
'Guess you've been eating an apple a day,' he texts to one former boyfriend, 'because you've kept
this
doctor away.'
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Karan Soni as Naveen Gavaskar and Jonathan Groff as Jay Kurundkar in 'A Nice Indian Boy.'
Courtesy of Levantine Films and Wayfarer Studios
Enter a potential nice Indian boy for Naveen. He first notices photographer Jay Kurundkar ('Hamilton''s
Now, if you know anything about Bollywood movies, you'll immediately recognize their date movie as the 1995 film, 'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge,' or 'DDLJ' as it's often called. The reason I know this is from my years of working in tech with Indian coders, all of whom loved this movie to pieces. So it's a nice touch for this film to acknowledge a beloved classic.
It's an even more inspired idea to have the Tony Award-winning Groff sing a few bars of 'Tujhe Dekha To Yeh Jana Sanam,' one of 'DDLJ''s big numbers. Naveen is horrified by this bold display,
which occurs during their post-movie walk. But that's because he shares the same penchant for withholding his true emotions like his Dad. This affliction will become a problem as the two men fall in love and become engaged.
I should probably mention that Jay is white. His last name comes from the Indian foster family who adopted him after he had lived in ten other foster homes. He's adopted their traditions as well — and he speaks Hindi. So, Jay fits the titular description. Naveen mentions that when he tells his family he's finally bringing someone home. Imagine their surprise when Jay upends their expectations.
Harish Patel as Archit Gavaskar, Karan Soni as Naveen Gavaskar, Zarna Garg as Megha Gavaskar and Sunita Mani as Arundhathi Gavaskar in 'A Nice Indian Boy.'
Courtesy of Levantine Films and Wayfarer Studios
From a plot perspective, there really isn't anything new here. There's the usual second act misunderstanding, the family dinner that goes horribly awry, the sad break-up and the indulgent scene where the two lovers reunite. And of course, there's a big, colorful wedding at the end, because no movie that uses Amy Vincent ('Eve's Bayou') as cinematographer is going to pass up using her keen eye to film it.
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What makes 'A Nice Indian Boy' shine are the performances and the sharp writing by Eric Randall. There are gay and Indian people in front of and behind the camera, giving the film a lived-in knowledge of in-jokes and traditions. Stand-up
Zarna Garg as Megha Gavaskar, Karan Soni as Naveen Gavaskar, Sunita Mani as Arundhathi Gavaskar, Sachin Sahel as Manish and Harish Patel as Archit Gavaskar in 'A Nice Indian Boy.'
Courtesy of Levantine Films and Wayfarer Studios
Mani, as Naveen's snarky married sister, Arundhathi, navigates her character's bittersweet arc. Though Arundhathi is the bad guy at one point, we understand the reasons she lashes out. She and Naveen have a recognizable sibling bond. And Groff is the boisterous yet gentle heart of the film. He's so lovable that you wonder why Naveen would cringe when Jay is serenading him.
The real star of 'A Nice Indian Boy,' however, is Soni. He holds the film together by credibly portraying a man afraid of any emotion he finds gregarious. It's pure joy watching Naveen grow and learn to experience what Jay calls 'the bigness of love.' His journey will be recognizable, not just to gay men, but to anyone who was once afraid to trust that the person they love will love them back with the same fervor.
★★★1/2
A NICE INDIAN BOY
Directed by Roshan Sethi. Written by Eric Randall. Based on the play by Madhuri Shekar. Starring Karan Soni, Jonathan Groff, Sunita Mani, Zarna Garg, Harish Patel, Sachin Sahel, Peter S. Kim. At Coolidge Corner, AMC Boston Common. 96 min. Unrated (a nice instance of bad words)
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Odie Henderson is the Boston Globe's film critic.

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