Gay love is in the air! Queer filmmaker Andrew Ahn’s semi-remake of Ang Lee’s “The Wedding Banquet” is about to have its Spring theatrical release. Preceding it by a week or so is gay filmmaker Roshan Sethi’s “A Nice Indian Boy” (Levantine Films). Sethi, who wrote and directed the marvelous 2021 pandemic rom-com “7 Days,” has proven himself a filmmaker of merit.
As “A Nice Indian Boy” opens, Naveen (Karan Soni, who is not only Sethi’s life partner, but also played one of the leads in “7 Days”) is attending the festive wedding of his sister Arundhathi (Sunita Mani) to “beautiful” future orthopedic surgeon Manish (Sachin Sahel), in what is essentially an arranged marriage. As a 25-year-old gay man, Naveen wonders what it will be like when he brings home “a nice Indian boy.”
Six years later, while worshiping at an altar for Ganesh at the Indian temple, Naveen, who is now a doctor, sees Jay (Jonathan Groff) praying behind him. Socially awkward Naveen is too shy to talk to him. He’s more comfortable communicating with men via texting or social media.
But wouldn’t you know it, on the day that Naveen and his gay office mate Paul (Peter S. Kim) have their work photos taken, the photographer is none other than Jay! The somewhat forward Jay flirts with Naveen and then asks him on a date to attend a screening of the Bollywood classic “DDLJ” with him. As it turns out, Jay was adopted and raised by a now-deceased Indian couple, and “DDLJ” was Jay’s father’s favorite movie. The first date ends on a sour note when Naveen avoids a kiss from Jay at a gay country-western bar.
Shortly thereafter, Naveen receives an invitation from Jay to an exhibit of his photography. It’s there he sees the family portrait of Jay and his late adoptive parents, and something changes in Naveen. Soon, he’s trying to figure out how to tell his family about Jay. On the other hand, Jay is much more at ease with the new relationship, bringing Naveen to a party at Billie (Sas Greenberg) and Neel’s (Sean Amsing), where Billie warns Naveen not to “break” Jay, that he’s “more fragile than he seems.”
Even though the difference in Naveen and Jay’s comfort level with the relationship is becoming a sticking point, a betrothal of sorts occurs, and Jay moves in with Naveen. This leads to Naveen finally bringing Jay to his family’s home. Naveen’s parents, Megha (scene-stealer Zarna Garg) and Archit (Harish Patel) go above and beyond in welcoming Jay. But the evening is a disaster, including Arundhathi’s announcement that she’s leaving Manish.
Much drama follows, including Jay briefly moving out. But fear not, there is not only the happiest of endings, but also a stunning same-gender Indian wedding, including a Bollywood-style dance number. The device of separating the movie into five chapters was more of a distraction than a necessity. “A Nice Indian Boy” is best described as a drama with comedic moments rather than a rom-com and is a welcome addition to the queer cinema canon.
Rating: B
