A NICE INDIAN BOY (2025)
MPAA: NR.
Release Date: 04/04/25 [Cinemas]
Genre: Comedy. Drama. Romance.
Studio: Levantine Films / Wayfarer Studios.
"When Naveen brings his fiancé Jay home to meet his traditional Indian family, they must contend with accepting his white-orphan-artist boyfriend and helping them plan the Indian wedding of their dreams."
OUR MOVIE REVIEW:
While A Nice Indian Boy’s premise may not stray far from its Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner inspired clash of romantic and cultural cliches, its authentic performances and effortless laugh-out-loud humor overshadows any lack of originality.
The cast led by Karan Soni (Naveed) and Jonathan Groff (Jay) have an AP level of chemistry and Soni does a wonderful job of subtly battling his internal insecurities that are preventing him from openly showing his true affections and eventual love towards Jay. Although Jay is Caucasian, he was adopted by Indian parents (who have sadly passed away) and shares many of the same cultural background, interests and ideals held by Naveen as an Indian man. This peculiar circumstance makes for a bewildering first impression from Naveed’s parents, who are caught off-guard by Jay’s familiarity with their customs contrary to his appearance.
Naveed’s parents, played by Zarna Garg and Harish Patel are both natural and hilarious in their dry, earnest delivery of their lines. His Mom makes a visible effort, albeit misguided/overzealous attempt to connect with her gay son and encourage him to find someone he loves. She even goes as far as providing a play by play of the Sean Penn film Milk that she’s recently seen on the OUTtv because she believes the LBGTQ centered programming will help her be closer to her son. Despite this surface level acceptance of her son’s sexual orientation, there is still an assumption that he will end up with an Indian man similar to his sister who had an arranged marriage a few years prior to Naveed meeting Jay.
While both of Naveed’s parents seem to accept their son as a gay man at first glance, internal struggles come to light later in the film leading to an intriguing character study and evolution of the characters throughout the film.
A Nice Indian Boy is charming, hilarious and heartwarming; showcasing the best of human connection without neglecting the trials and tribulations of a strong family bond being tested by a deviation from tradition.

OUR VERDICT:
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