Karan Soni & Jonathan Groff’s gay Indian rom-com already has audiences “turned on”
A Nice Indian Boy has a seemingly familiar hook: Naveen Gavaskar (Deadpool‘s Karan Soni) is anxious about introducing his fiancé to his traditional Indian family.But, no, it’s not because he’s gay—they’ve known for a while and are totally cool with it.
What Naveen is really nervous about is his parents discovering his husband-to-be… is white!Jonathan Groff plays the man in question, Jay Kurundkar, whose last name is attributed to the fact that he was adopted by Indian parents and raised in India.
His understanding of their cultural customs leaves the Gavaskar family stunned.Subscribe to our newsletter for your front-row seat to all things entertainment with a sprinkle of everything else queer.Based off Madhuri Shekar’s play of the same name and directed by Roshan Sethi (who is partnered with Karan Soni in real life), A Nice Indian Boy is a film that both subverts stereotypes of Indian culture and upends many of the cliches of the rom-com.Oh, sure, we get to gawk at Naveen and Jay’s meet-cute, watch their relationship go throughs ups, downs, misunderstandings, and many of the other hallmarks of the genre, but the movie takes every opportunity to surprise and charm its audience.For example: We bet you’d never expect to hear Naveen’s parents (played by Harish Patel and veteran comic Zarna Garg) name-check For The Love Of DILFs!
But OUTtv’s outrageous reality show comes up in a hilarious bit where they perhaps go overboard in trying to prove they’re accepting of their son’s sexuality.Another surprising moment comes when Jay sings a rendition of the Bollywood number “Tujhe Dekha To Ye Jana Sanam” (from the beloved Bollywood musical Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge) to Naveen.
