Their meet-cute is more meet-cringe—opposing energies in faux suede and emotional armor.
Opening Jitters
The first half-hour of A Nice Indian Boy didn’t entirely work for me—too much tonal whiplash and a meet-cute between a couple of guys whose frustrating personality quirks bounced off each other like opposing magnets.
But, admittedly, I laughed. *A lot.* And so did everyone else in the audience.
Karan Soni (Dopinder from the Deadpool films) stars as introverted, painfully reserved young doctor Naveen, who encounters gregarious freelance photographer Jay (Grammy/Tony-winner Jonathan Groff, Hamilton, HBO's Looking), raised by adoptive Indian parents and loosely assimilated into the culture.
Based on Madhuri Shekar's hit stage play, it’s an opposites-attract tale directed by Soni’s real-life husband, Roshan Sethi, and executive produced by Mindy Kaling (The Office, The Mindy Project).
After an increasingly awkward first date, Naveen’s self-doubt nearly sinks their prospects—but as rom-com fate requires, they forge ahead anyway. When the relationship turns serious, it’s time to meet the parents. And that’s where the narrative finally hits its stride.
Somewhere between a disco ball and a quiet epiphany, the rom starts to catch up to the com.
Swipe Right Anyway
By the midpoint, I’d resigned myself to just enjoying the rapid-fire jokes—even if the romance and early attempts at sentimentality felt a bit undercooked. But damn it, by the final stretch, they’d sold me.
Sure, it’s a little rough around the edges (particularly on the editing front), but aided by Soni’s deadpan delivery, self-effacing humor, and understated charisma, the picture’s charm slowly sneaks up on you.
The real hook is how director Sethi and his screenwriter navigate Naveen’s Indian family dynamic and the quieter societal expectations each member carries.
His parents are supportive of his sexuality (refreshingly, we skip any obligatory coming-out scenes), but he still seems one or two steps behind them—on being gay, yes, but also on dating someone non-Indian and in questioning their sincerity.
Zarna Garg steals the film with nothing but a teacup, a glare, and a deeply specific recap of Milk.
Mom Knows Best
The best scenes come when the filmmakers dare to show enough comedic restraint to slow down and give Naveen’s family room to breathe—especially his mom, Megha, played by stand-up comedian Zarna Garg.
She’s a revelation. From the moment she's introduced, calling her son at work to breathlessly overexplain the plot of Milk, fresh off watching it on her favorite cable channel, OutTV, she’s utterly hilarious.
But more importantly, she’s real and the film’s emotional soul. And so are the rest of his family members. The picture lets these characters evolve into people we actually care about, perhaps even more than the central couple. A rare trick for a rom-com to pull off.
The whole affair leads to a final-act traditional Indian wedding (adapted to two grooms) that tips its hat to Bollywood—funny, heartfelt, and surprisingly moving.
The emotional payoff, once again, comes not from the two leads but from the completion of the supporting character arcs surrounding them—an unexpected touch that makes the celebration feel sweeter without turning saccharine.
The Bollywood payoff hits—heartfelt, funny, and somehow still subtle beneath all that embroidery.
Cue the Confetti
I’ve long rolled my eyes at the Hallmark-ification of gay rom-coms and mostly avoid them altogether.
But between this, the infectiously disarming recent Italian breakout Maschile Singolare (Mascarpone), and the still-criminally underseen Spoiler Alert, either I’m getting soft or filmmakers are finally figuring out how to crack the code on this subgenre.
While decidedly less flirty than Maschile Singolare and far less emotive than Spoiler Alert, A Nice Indian Boy carries a taste of both, choosing instead to lean more heavily on the “com” than the “rom,” and, frankly, I’m okay with that.
SARI, NOT SARI
- 1 point because, while I get the phraseology, the title massively undersells the picture—even as a stage adaptation. Along with Mascarpone, please just name your rom-coms like you actually want us to recommend them.
+ 3 points for finally putting Soni in the lead—he nails it.
+ 5 points for introducing me to Zarna Garg. Off to binge everything she’s ever done.
+ 10 points for that needle drop of the Stormy Daniels-hosted reality dating show For the Love of DILFs. The entire theater full-on lost it.
Rough start. Great finish. Still hate the title. I fully anticipate this landing on my Hidden Gems list in the near future.
Cinema DEFCON Threat Assessment: 22 Days — Theatrical-to-Streaming Window
Verdict Despite warm reviews and a beloved pedigree, it was never destined to shine at the box office. Capped at just 81 theaters nationwide and sent to streaming after three weeks, it skipped theater courtship in favor of digital matchmaking. Don’t let the numbers fool you—this one’s a catch.
🎬 [PLAYBACK: TRAILER]
The official trailer plays up the cultural chaos, meet-cute mayhem, and just enough mom-glare to make you flinch.
