I cannot pretend to be entirely objective about “A Nice Indian Boy.” I’m a huge fan of everyone in the cast, including “Hamilton” star Jonathan Groff. Seeing him in a romance is a rare pleasure. I love stand-up phenomenon Zarna Garg, and it is a treat to see her in her first feature film. And it is an enormous delight to see Karan Soni, best known as the taxi driver fanboy in the “Deadpool” movies and Sunita Mani, also most often in smaller roles, here given significant, layered characters, which they play with exceptional heart and sensitivity in an endearing story of romance and family and dancing at Indian weddings. I enjoyed it immensely.
It begins with the wedding celebration of Arundhathi Gavaskar (Mani) and Manish (Sachin Sahel), a semi-arranged marriage by both sets of parents. Arundhathi’s mother, Megha (Garg), and father, Archit (Harish Patel), who did not even meet until their wedding day, are overjoyed. The groom is even a surgeon. It’s the dream.
As the wedding guests dance, Arundhathi’s brother, Naveen (Soni, who also produced), is sitting alone, wincing every time someone merrily calls out to him, “You’re next!” He is gay, which his parents gingerly accept. However, it is his family’s culture not to discuss feelings, fears, or conflicts, and he is very uncomfortable with them, as well as with pretty much everyone else, including himself.
It’s not enough to say that Naveen has no game. He has negative game. We hear him leave an excruciatingly cringe series of voicemail messages for potential dates. Suddenly, it’s picture day at the hospital, and the photographer is Jay Kurundkar (Groff). That scene is a gem, with Soni showcasing Naveen’s tender-hearted vulnerability and yearning, as well as his utterly ineffective effort to hide it all. Groff is more open about his feelings for Naveen. The flash of the camera punctuates their instant connection.
Jay lived with a dozen foster families before he found a home with the Indian couple who adopted him, and he is devoted to that culture. He takes Naveen to the classic Indian musical “Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge,” known to fans as DDLJ, which translates to “The Brave-Hearted Will Take the Bride.” And Soni manages the monumental acting challenge of appearing embarrassed instead of enraptured when Groff launches into a DDLJ song on the sidewalk.
Jay is hurt that Naveen is not willing to tell his family he is in love with a “white artist orphan,” even after they are engaged. Naveen finally agrees to take Jay to meet his parents, telling him to be himself “except a little more formal, like you’re interviewing for the Presidency.” It does not go well. And Naveen is so consumed by his own fears and repressions that he misses some significant signs that a member of his family is struggling.
So, a good set-up for a journey toward understanding, reconciliation, and everything we hope for in a movie romance. “A Nice Indian Boy” makes every bit of that heartwarming and it even includes some gentle wisdom about love and families. Too often, we are so eager to see pretty people fall in love onscreen that all we need is a montage of the couple walking through a farmer’s market, riding bicycles in the countryside, and laughing together in a sidewalk café while a pop song plays on the soundtrack. This way, the screenwriter doesn’t have to come up with actual conversations. But screenwriters Eric Randall and Madhuri Shekar give us believable characters with a believable connection, and not just because we learn that Naveen’s favorite film is DDLJ.
Naveen loves Jay’s honesty and willingness to be open about the way he sees the world, as evident in the gallery show of his photographs, as well as his honesty about his nervousness. Jay tells Naveen he is looking for more than “two people going it alone clinging together like they’re in life rafts.” He longs for the sense of home and community he felt growing up in an Indian family. He sees Naveen’s awkwardness as a universal mix of longing and terror when it comes to intimacy, saying, “I think we’re all a little bit embarrassed by the bigness of love.” “A Nice Indian Boy” is nowhere near the flamboyance of DDLJ, but it brings that same sense of the joy, the anxiety, and yes, the bigness of love to a wonderfully warm-hearted romance.
