A Nice Indian Boy (2024)

-Written by Michelle Vorob.

Do you want something unexpectedly cute, funny, and touching to watch? A Nice Indian Boy is heartfelt and relatable, thanks to the natural dialogue and interaction. Natural dialogue and interaction seems to be a hook for me, but I definitely appreciate it over films and television in which the characters speak and interact in an overly literary manner, rather than how people really relate. Screen adaptation is so important and I think, sometimes, a bit overlooked.

A Nice Indian Boy opens at a wedding, everyone seemingly having a great time, except maybe Naveen (Karan Soni). His sister, Arundhathi (Sunita Mani) is the bride, so naturally, every guest keeps telling Naveen he's next to get married. They mean well, it's what people say, but it puts undue pressure on Naveen, especially since he's gay.

Fast forward six years and Naveen just so happens to meet someone, Jay (Jonathan Groff). I've been going back and forth, trying to decide how to talk about Jay, as well as the relationship between Naveen and Jay. There are both comical elements and heartfelt elements, but what it comes down to is that Naveen has finally met the right person. 

Interestingly, there's a kind of domino effect in Naveen's family. By finding the right person and bringing him into the family, Naveen not only becomes more at peace with himself, but every other family member seems to be more at peace with themselves and each other by the end of A Nice Indian Boy. 

Now, this is not a coming out story, nor does anything threatening happen. A Nice Indian Boy is a dramedy that's more comedy than drama and has a light-hearted feel. It's easy to watch. It made me laugh. It even made me cry at the end. What I especially liked about A Nice Indian Boy is that you could apply that family dynamic in many instances, which helped to make it so relatable. Think about your family, or almost any family. Think about hearing someone remark to a single relative, “find yourself a nice - whatever fits here - boy.” A nice “whatever” person your family has expectations for. 

More than that, we have expectations for ourselves. Whether our criteria in a partner matches with what our families imagine, we have to live with ourselves and our choices. Are we living authentic lives? Are we happy with our life partner? A Nice Indian Boy addresses this not only through Naveen and Jay's relationship, but also his sister's marriage, as well as his parents’, played wonderfully by Zarna Garg and Harish Patel. 

I wasn't sure what direction A Nice Indian Boy would head when I sat down to watch, but I'm glad I finally had the time to find out. You can see A Nice Indian Boy for yourself on Hulu, or rent/buy on Amazon Prime. 

Directed by Roshan Sethi.

Written by Eric Randall and Madhuri Shekar.

Starring Karan Soni, Jonathan Groff, Sunita Mani, Zarna Garg, Harish Patel, Peter S. Kim, Sas Goldberg, Sean Amsing, etc.

7.5/10 = WORTH RENTING OR BUYING