'A Nice Indian Boy' Is The Rom-Com We've Been Waiting For

The film has a love story to root for — and will make you laugh along the way.

“A Nice Indian Boy” is the fresh, original romantic comedy that I have been waiting for. It’s one of those rare movies with perfect comedic timing and will make everyone in the theater laugh while telling an emotional story. Directed by Roshan Sethi, the film will resonate with you long after the credits have rolled. Based on the play by Madhuri Shekar and adapted for the screen by Eric Randall, the story combines elements of both the American rom-com and the Indian Bollywood film to create a new and much-needed type of love story.

And, like every good love story, it has a great beginning.

“What will it look like when I bring home a nice Indian boy?” wonders Naveen (Karan Soni) as he sits off to the side at the wedding celebration of his sister Arundhathi (Sunita Mani). In the film’s first scene, as Naveen gazes longingly at the dancing before him, it’s clear that he wants what his sister has, but he’s not certain that he will ever have a big Indian wedding of his own.

This is partially because his parents are supportive in theory — they know he’s gay — but they’ve never seen him “be gay.” This leaves Naveen to hope for a wedding but doubt that he will ever have a husband like his sister’s Manish (Sachin Sahel).

This set-up is the prologue, and what follows is a story that begins six years later and is told in five chapters. In “Chapter 1 - The Boy,” Naveen meets Jay Kurundkar (Jonathan Groff), a white artist who was adopted and raised by Indian parents who have died. In the movie’s meet-cute moment, the two are worshipping in front of the Ganesh altar at the same temple. Even though they don’t speak or even make eye contact, the tension is palpable. When Jay gets up to leave, he rings a bell, symbolically setting their love story in motion.