Karan Soni & Jonathan Groff’s gay Indian rom-com already has audiences “turned on”

Image Credit: ‘A Nice Indian Boy,’ Levantine Films

The upcoming gay rom-com 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.

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. Considering Groff’s a Broadway veteran with a gorgeous voice, the scene’s sure to be a crowd-pleaser.

In a new interview with Variety, Soni jokes “everyone was turned on”—great choice of words—when his co-star broke out into song on set. Groff, for his part, admits he’d never seen a Bollywood film prior to committing to A Nice Indian Boy, but he sure did his homework.

And though the movie is one about cultural specificity, the Looking star says he was astonished by how universally relatable the story could be, especially on a family level:

“I, immediately from the first take of the first scene, couldn’t believe how familiar it all felt,” Groff shares. “Even though there was a stark difference in culture, it was so heartwarming to see that families are families, no matter what culture you’re in.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Sethi and Soni detail what an uphill battle it was to get A Nice Indian Boy. They struggled to find funding—told their largely Indian cast wasn’t “meaningful enough” to obtain financing—until Groff came on board. “[Hollywood’s] one of the most racist industries in America,” the director notes.

The film’s very existence holds a very personal meaning for both of the partners, too, neither of whom were out in the earlier days of their careers.

“I was closeted six years ago, and now I got to make this movie,” says Sethi, who wass a medical practitioner before he became a filmmaker. “I could never have imagined when I was like, walking around the hospital as a straight doctor, watching [HBO’s] Looking, that I was going to like be out, much less like be making this movie.”

Soni feels similarly: “I started auditioning and stuff in Hollywood in 2009 and I could have never imagined, one, having a lead role in something, and then two, for it to be such a personal thing about so much of the stuff that I have been through.”

Since the beginning, they’ve hoped that A Nice Indian Boy will resonate far beyond just being a “gay movie” or an “Indian movie,” and it sounds like, thus far, that’s been the case!

Since world premiering at SXSW this past spring, the film has been both a critical and audience favorite. It was the opening night screening of NYC’s LGBTQ+ Newfest last week, screens as part of the BFI London Film Festival tonight, and will close out Seattle’s South-Asian Tasveer Film Festival on Oct. 20.

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With all the fest screenings, praise for A Nice Indian Boy have been pouring in, which just made its debut on review aggregator RottenTomatoes with a perfect 100% “Fresh” score, with critics calling it, “a riotous, moving queer romantic comedy with a wildly unique premise.”

At this point, you’re probably thinking: “Okay, well, when can I see it?” Excellent question. Even if you’re not able to make it to one of the film’s upcoming festival dates, more are likely to come, so stay tuned to the A Nice Indian Boy Instagram account for more updates.

And then, per Variety, they’re preparing the film for a theatrical release “in the first quarter of next year, with streaming plans to follow.” So we’ll just have to be a little patient, btu 2025 isn’t so far away—good things come to those who wait!

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