The best Smart DNS for watching movies abroad.
Escapism is the key to some of my favorite romantic comedies. They work because you are allowed to forget your troubles for about 90 minutes. We sit and enjoy the whimsical wonder of two people falling in love. The magic behind the best rom-coms is that everyday troubles melt away. However, I appreciate romantic films with a dose of cathartic reality. I love films that offer some introspection on love and romance. A Nice Indian Boy is one of these movies.
It follows Naveen (Karan Soni) as he introduces his boyfriend turned fiancé Jay (Jonathan Groff) to his strict Indian family. They’re shocked to discover that Naveen’s soon-to-be husband isn’t exactly a nice Indian boy. On the surface, A Nice Indian Boy may seem like a typical romantic comedy of boy meets boy, boy asks boy to marry him, but it’s more complex and deeper than expected, and that’s why I adored it.
Warning: A Nice Indian Boy spoilers are ahead. Proceed with caution.
I Love How A Nice Indian Boy Focuses On How A Family Can Affect A Relationship
In A Nice Indian Boy, Naveen and Jay’s biggest conflict is Jay’s role and place in Naveen’s family. It’s about whether they can accept him, and if Naveen should even care about that. Naveen’s family knows he’s gay and accepts it. However, it’s not fully embraced. His father still shows some distance between them because of it. His mother tries her best but has a very misguided idea of how to support her gay son.
In addition to Naveen’s family not being quite aware of how to support him, due to his sexuality, they’re also very traditional. His sister, Arundhathi (Sunita Mani), had an arranged marriage with an Indian man. Her life seems happy that way. His family must adjust to finally meeting a serious male partner and the fact that he’s racially white (Jay was adopted and grew up with an Indian family).
This isn’t the first romantic movie where family plays a huge role in creating tension. It’s also not the first LGBTQ+ romantic comedy with this as a focus. However, it’s one of the few that doesn’t necessarily go the traditional route of someone hiding their identity from their family.
That’s part of the conflict, but it’s more about figuring out how Naveen and his family learn to understand each other. It’s also about navigating traditions when someone doesn’t fit the mold but also wants to not completely dismiss them.
It Made Me Think How Romance Doesn’t Happen In A Vacuum
Many great romantic comedies treat love and romance like they only exist between the two people in the relationship. However, that’s not necessarily true. The couple should hold the power over whether it works out. Someone should make their partner’s needs and wants a priority, but relationships don’t only exist between the couple. Families and friends play a major role in it.
How much or how little time someone spends with their partner’s family and friends depends on the level of closeness. If they’re not estranged from their family, this likely means someone significant other will have many interactions with their family and friends.
A family or friend can add unnecessary tension to a relationship or help elevate it. In A Nice Indian Boy, Naveen’s family adds stress to his relationship with Jay, but eventually helps execute an epic wedding. I think we don’t get enough movies that showcase that it’s you and your partner against the world, but the world is still there. Your relationship must tackle how to navigate certain figures in your life. If a family and a spouse don’t mix well, that could be enough to end one of the relationships.
A Nice Indian Boy showcases that true love is strong and can overcome the pressures of family. However, it doesn’t act like families and friends don’t have any influence on a relationship. That makes it more realistic than some romantic comedies.
I Grew To Adore This Complicated Family Because They Feel Realistic
A Nice Indian Boy depicts a hilarious Indian family and highlights another great romantic comedy with an Asian lead. The whole family has their brilliant quirks, but Naveen’s mother, Megha (Zarna Garg), is the standout. She’s effortlessly funny. Naveen’s father, Archit (Harish Patel), feels like many fathers. He kind of takes the backseat and seems emotionless, but has many emotions that he keeps in for the sake of his family. Arundhathi is quite mean to her brother at times. However, it’s the meanness that feels like many siblings. It’s harsh, but in the unfiltered way that siblings often are with one another.
Arundhathi and Naveen clearly love and respect each other, but also are siblings, so they can be casually cruel, but they also know how to make amends. Their try-hard mother also feels realistic. These are typical character archetypes in movies and TV shows. However, they’re such tried and true characters because we may have encountered similar figures in our lives.
Because I grew to understand this family and see how they could easily represent a real family, I adore them and want to spend more time with the Gavaskar family.
Jonathan Groff is another actor who I think is underrated as a romantic lead. He has so many great movies and TV shows, but I would like to see him do more romantic movies. That also added to the appeal of A Nice Indian Boy: it’s a charming romantic comedy that let’s Groff shine as a queer character. Groff and Karan Soni have captivating chemistry and suck you into their romance. The first half of A Nice Indian Boy focuses on their love story, but the second half leans more into how they deal with Naveen’s family.
The second half is what takes it beyond a typical romance movie by exploring the bonds of family and how they can grow or fall apart. I enjoyed A Nice Indian Boy so much, and even felt touched by it, because it’s as much about the family as it is about the romance.
I Commend A Nice Indian Boy For Balancing Naveen’s Desire To Please His Family With Following His Heart
Some movies end with a character completely picking their romantic relationship over their family. I never felt that Naveen would pick Jay over the Gavaskars. It always seemed like he just needed to find a middle ground. A Nice Indian Boy shows that family is important, but you need to figure out how to set boundaries and not give up everything you love for them.
Naveen finds that balance, and I think that’s something many can relate to: Loving their family but not letting them control their lives and decisions completely.
A Nice Indian Boy is the charismatic romantic comedy that you need to find at a theater near you or when it comes to streaming. It’s one of the best new 2025 movies.
A Nice Indian Boy is now playing in theaters nationwide.