
A lot of times, it appears that the wedding isn’t for the couple standing right there at the altar, but rather for the families. In some cultures, particularly India, weddings are a big deal, symbolizing the strength and position of a family. But what occurs when this intergenerational requirement to maintain aged customs confronts contemporary sensibilities? You get a joyous, beautiful, and nuanced film like Roshan Sethi’s A Nice Indian Boy, which Eric Randall has adapted for the screen from a play written by Madhuri Shekar.
When was the last time we saw a good romantic comedy in which the main focus was not only love but also family? It seems like decades since we have enjoyed a wedding-centered romcom of that caliber. Four Weddings and a Funeral, for example, it is a movie that almost any single person can relate to due to its comical take on the fears of being single while watching friends marry. Alternatively, is there anyone who hasn’t experienced the confusion that arises when two people from different backgrounds (and their families) try to merge together like in My Big Fat Greek Wedding? What if I told you that A Nice Indian Boy is the film we’ve been yearning for this entire time? This film not only pays homage to and draws inspiration from these well-known films from the 90s and 00s but it is also a queer love story that totally goes beyond some white-washed heterosexual love stories that have been released on streaming platforms these past few years. I’m sorry, Billy Eichner, this is the queer romance story that everyone envisioned.
A Nice Indian BoyImage Via Levantine Films
Naveen (Karan Soni) is about as uncomfortable as a person could be in the situations we meet him in. We see him first in a close-up shot in his early 20s, who stares longingly at a hot straight guy who is dancing quite fervently. It happens to be the wedding of Naveen’s sister, Arundhathi (Sunita Mani), and the woman is all that an Indian daughter ought to be lovely, cheerful, and satisfied with the marriage her mother (Zarna Garg) arranges her to a doctor. Naveen, on the other hand, is showing us his voiceover and indicating that he also wants this for himself but, 1. there is no way he is going to say that he wants it out loud and 2. owing to his sexual limitations (he is a gay) because of his culture, he is not clear as to how he can experience this kind of love that everyone else does celebrate. Cut to 6 years later, Naveen has aged but his loneliness and awkwardness have only deepened as well.
While at the temple one day, he spots Jay (Jonathan Groff) a white man. After Jay and the other wow each other repeatedly, Jay and the other become a couple the two revelers look like oil and water. Jay rides in to sing to Naveen in the noon sun on the street, and the first date is very hot, it makes so much sense that Jay has no boundaries in relation to what is ingrained outside this world. They argue about the visuals and the narrative of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge while discussing its plot and Jay just defends Naveed’s criticism about its theatricality by saying ‘It’s love that we all really pity for, for its strangeness’. However, what they have in common is being born to Indian parents. Anyway, Jay is as white as Glee’s Jonathan Groff, but their Indian parents adopted him after he fostered for many years and his adoptive parents have died. While Jay can’t wait to meet Naveen’s parents, for Naveen it is the complete opposite; he wishes to forget his turbulent past and the things he wished to say to his family for a long time.
A Nice Indian Boy is a nice Indian boy, reminiscent of the strikingly real but heartfelt style seen in The Big Sick. But unlike The Big Sick which veers towards Emily’s sickness, A Nice Indian Boy is all about the various hardships and hurdles of being in an interracial couple. What revolves around most of the runtime is Naveen, who appears to be on the verge of choking on his words till death something you think at times, is actually a good way to end his suffering. It is at times painful to watch, but in the end, you don’t mind all that when he finally looks into Jay’s eyes. Most of the great romcoms, the humor, the disorder, the cast, plots around two people, and their love for the melons, and the rest really fails if the picture can’t offer that. Naveen and Jay’s love is achievable also because the script and the actors work together to portray a love that appears to be bigger than life but is also believable. Who would have thought, an awkward brunch in a ludicrously expensive loft would be the backdrop for a pulsating romantic scene? There are times when Naveen is unable to articulate his feelings, but as soon as he and Jay lock eyes, everything becomes apparent.
Life can bring agitating distractions that could ruin any relationship. But not for those who are in Love.
While A Nice Indian Boy is restricted to an exclusively Indian audience, the film takes its time showing arguably the most intimate and uncomfortable aspects of humanity that make everyone cringe. In opposition to Hallmark and Netflix original rom-coms that celebrate the idea of a perfectly scripted date that ends in a first kiss that has fireworks, the most crowded bar in the world, and strong expectations of perfect restraint, Jay’s first drink with Naveen ends up being quite awkward. The instant she returns back to the office, she seems to complain about Jay’s overenthusiasm and embarrassing behavior toward her colleague and friend Paul (Peter S. Kim): in a scenario that almost every couple has gone through, the couple has gone on a date, and the couple.
Still, it does not erase the chemistry that is evidently so visible between them even if Naveen shoves Jay aside in an embarrassing moment. It was an odd combination of sweetness, discomfort, and clumsiness that on any other occasion may seem cringing but never once does it feel as if the two are not meant for each other. It is a contemporary interpretation of “The Odd Couple” that is a fitting stage for the world that examines whether Naveen is worth the stress that comes with Jay.
The common thread here is the brilliant supporting cast in the classic rom-coms mentioned above as well as A Nice Indian Boy. What A Nice Indian Boy shows in a refreshingly new light is that marriage and marriages or relationships for that matter aren’t just between two people, regardless of how the two may be. Just as Jay and Naveen are relieved to have discovered their shared love, it’s also stable but it gets easily disrupted by the eponymous character’s family. With all the features of a comedic telephone conversation, we forget about the eponymous character’s mother who stated that it was Thanos who shot Harvey Milk among other things, the family members are not merely goofy characters with an ever-so-slight outline.
A Nice Indian Boy does not have shortcuts when it comes to explaining the difficulties in reaching the altar or finding real love. In fact, the film from its maturing perspective, changes its course where most films become stereotypical and provide a different outlook. Why are Naveen’s parents such abnormal beings? How did they get to such an extent of being obsessed with the culture? After all, so to speak, Naveen’s sister is presented as an ideal Indian daughter. Eric Randall’s script flows in a very healthy rhythm, just when you presume the film is concluding, a viewer is provided with another segment of the film that, most likely, most don’t even know exists. This film is not only about love, rather it is about culture as well, about generations, and about family as a whole. It can also quite easily accept the fact that ‘families are irreparably flawed’.
‘A Nice Indian Boy’ Has an Olympian Cast with Superb Efforts
Karan Soni seems like a perfect fit for the role of Naveen. The actor, however, drawing from his own experiences, said that it is a tough balancing act as a character who is always “clenching their jaw or trying to control every little thing” also wants to be free from these constraints. One may have thought that a first date would have had no spark at all on account of Naveen’s extreme unwillingness, but it’s Soni’s valiant portrayal that gives us glimpses of endearment. Jonathan Groff is a treat, this time as well. Jay is soft, mushy, and overconfident but only due to his weak trauma-stricken core. They two manage to stand on their feet thanks to enthralling supporting models. Peter S. Kim is great fun as Naveen’s close friend who brings him to contemporary gay norms and tells him to show Bros to his mother. For these women who have to live by their ancestral dogmas, there is a new movement emerging: Sunita Mani as Naveen’s furious young sister challenges these stereotypes and underscores the problems young women embrace in such societies.
As the mother of Naveen, Zarna Garg is vivacious and one cannot ignore that heart-touching speech at the end of the movie. It must be remembered that the oppressive, dominating parent figure does get some sympathy and so does Naveen’s father. The first half also leaves a lot of people thinking about Harish Patel but it is Harish Patel, best known for his third-act character transformation that makes the film so moving. They’re ensemble romances because they allow for different voices to come together, and A Nice Indian Boy’s screenplay and cast add deftly to the ideas of culture, generations, and character points of view.
A Nice Indian Boy is that perfect blend of a film that you would recommend to your uptight coworker, your dad who doesn’t ever shed a tear, or a film bro whose only knowledge of romantic comedies includes the film, Punch-Drunk Love. It’s a heartfelt and emotionally touching story that will almost have you in tears, with a smile spanning from ear to ear as you watch it through the end. Just when it begins to become almost nauseatingly sweet, the witty script and people in the film calm it down. And it helped that it was about love and family, two of the most important elements in life. There is a certain wonder to the entire experience the entirely unmet expectations. For instance, it is well known that people often romanticize and exaggerate such concepts as ‘love’ or ‘passion’. This feeling is hardly unique to most audience members as the characters in the scene themselves are pretty much on the same level when it comes to voicing their feelings. Hence, it is able to articulate such ideas in an accessible manner catering to the most cynical viewer. You, yes you.
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