A Nice Indian Boy

Rarely does a film come along that is as effortlessly charming, deeply heartfelt, and laugh-out-loud funny as A Nice Indian Boy. This beautifully crafted romantic dramedy takes a fresh, sincere, and utterly delightful look at love, family, and cultural expectations-all wrapped in a warm, feel-good package that will leave audiences smiling long after the credits roll.

Directed with an intimate yet playful touch, the film follows Naveen, a young Indian-American man whose picture-perfect romance with the charismatic and kindhearted Keshav is complicated by one thing-convincing his traditional parents that this is, indeed, their nice Indian boy. What unfolds is a story brimming with wit, warmth, and moments of pure emotional resonance as Naveen and Keshav navigate family, tradition, and the beautifully messy journey of love.

A joyful, poignant, and utterly captivating film, A Nice Indian Boy is a triumph-one that deserves to be celebrated and cherished.

"A Nice Indian Boy" is the warm hug of a film we didn't know we desperately needed.

It's tender, hilarious, and deeply heartfelt - a love story that doesn't just center queerness, but roots it in culture, tradition, and family in a way that feels authentic rather than tokenized. Karan Soni and Jonathan Groff have electric chemistry, the kind that sneaks up on you and suddenly has you grinning like a fool by the third act.

The script is sharp without trying too hard, blending laugh-out-loud moments with quiet emotional punches that land right in the chest. And let's talk about the parents - nuanced, endearing, and refreshingly real. No cardboard villains here, just humans trying to make sense of a rapidly changing world.

In a time when representation still feels like a checkbox for most studios, A Nice Indian Boy feels like a film made with genuine love - love for its characters, love for its culture, and love for queer people trying to carve out space in the mess of tradition and identity.

Final verdict: A total gem. Add it to your must-watch list immediately. Then rewatch it with your mom.

"You know how things always get super weird whenever anything gay comes up? Well, I just thought I'd put everyone at ease by mentioning my white, Hindu, orphan, artist boyfriend. Mom? Dad? Do you want another son... who's white?"

I smiled from ear to ear from beginning to end. Well, with the exception of a few moments that I won't spoil here. It's nice to be reminded to watch films like this more often - films that are simply meant to make you feel good. There are no villains in this story, only the most lovely people you ever knew, who only mean well.

I adored everything from the ridiculously charming cast to the Bollywood soundtrack to the overly-sweet in-your-face message... because it was delivered with so much heart and care. I love how it pretty quickly morphed into something other else than a love story between two people but between a group of people. Rom-coms, I never spoke badly of you and if I did, I did not mean it.

Oh, and it's funny.

Oh, and it also has Sunita Mani, which is a nice bonus.

A Nice Indian Boy surprised me with how genuinely heartfelt and grounded it felt. The film doesn't try too hard-it just lets its characters breathe, and in doing so, it creates something tender and relatable.

The story strikes a delicate balance between cultural tradition and personal identity without feeling heavy-handed. What really stood out was the sincerity of the performances-there's warmth, humor, and real emotional depth, especially in the quieter moments.

It's a film about love, yes, but also about family, expectations, and the messy, beautiful process of learning how to be true to yourself. I appreciated that it didn't wrap everything up too neatly, yet still left me with a sense of hope.

Not every beat is perfect, and some scenes could've been tighter or more dynamic-but overall, it's a story that stays with you in a gentle, meaningful way.

Bottom line: Thoughtful, well-acted, and quietly moving. Definitely worth watching.

I learned about this film from social media a few months ago after a film festival, so I decided to watch it on opening weekend. I expected a cute, but maybe not particularly interesting rom-com, with a dash of the immigrant family wackiness of so many comedic films. Paying for this movie ticket was the best investment in mental health of the past six months, and I'm delighted to say this movie is nearly perfect. The script is very good, based on a play that I later learned is loved by the U. S. South Asian community. The direction is simply stellar and allows the excellent writing and inspired performances to breathe and reach the audience. The delineation of the script into clear parts, each of which (in some sense) represent the typical act structures of films is clever, especially because in many ways the conflicts and resolutions happen in unexpected places within that structure. I loved the performances by the romantic couple, and the family, which is in many ways the "entity" one half of the romantic couple has to win over, and the entity the other half of the couple must be won by, if that makes any sense. For queer immigrants, or queer children of immigrants from cultures that cultural researchers call collectivist and family-centered, this film will speak loudly and make them feel seen and understood. There are some very special moments between each member of the family and the members of the romantic couple, and in some ways, the audience. In my screening, one particular speech by one family member had the whole room sniffling in suppressed tears. The best part is that all the touching parts of the film are elegant, not schmaltzy or cheesy, and they are well-balanced with hilarious moments and clever humor. The characters could have been caricatures and stereotypes, and the film revels in preventing that, creating fully realized people whose behavior and feelings are explained by motivations and experiences that are not immediately evident. Congratulations to the whole production team, cast, and everyone involved. Thank you for such a beautiful film!