If the queer rom-com we have come to know asks, how will your parents react when you come out and bring home a partner of the same sex, then A Nice Indian Boy complicated this by asking how will your traditional Indian parents react when you bring home your white-orphan-artist boyfriend. Directed by Canadian Roshan Sethi and adapted from Madhuri Shekar’s play of the same name, A Nice Indian Boy is a new take on the classic rom-com. Touching, comedic, queer, and full of spirit, Karan Soni and Jonathan Groff star in this film that celebrates love, family, acceptance, and the changing times.

Naveen’s family knows he is gay. And as the chronically single one at every wedding, he hears the same thing every time: it will be your turn next time! When he first meets Jay, after a run in at the temple, they begin dating, moving quickly as they fall in love. When they begin to talk about engagement, it is time for Naveen to finally tell his family that he is seeing someone. But to his family’s surprise, Jay is white, adopted by Indian parents, who forces the family to confront their own acceptance of Naveen as their family dynamic changes. As the wedding planning commences and Naveen’s personal distance from his family gets in the way of their relationship, Naveen, Jay, and the whole family must find a way to get along, and move past their own traditional values.

The standout here is the way that the film turns the classic coming-out story on its head. Much like My Old Ass from 2024, A Nice Indian Boy does not approach Naveen’s story from a starting point of assumed straightness. From the beginning of the film, his family knows he is gay. They may have some difficulties accepting this, due to their traditional values, but they love Naveen regardless. Instead, it seems that Naveen’s parents are more startled to find Naveen has brought home a white partner than the fact that the partner is also a man.

It uses this often assumed straightness as a point of comedy in the film, bringing out laughs throughout at all parties involved, while also making some very pointed commentary about the generational divide, especially in more traditional households. Topics like arranged marriage, expectations of women vs. men, and race in religion are all discussed with the same openness and grace that Naveen is treated with when he brings home a boy. But despite this, the film remains light, still poking fun at all the right things that make rom-coms so fun to watch.

In the centre of this film, and doing great work to balance the tone while remaining the heart of the story is Karan Soni as Naveen. He plays the self-restrained doctor so well, oozing awkward yet charming chemistry with Jonathan Groff who, lucky for all the theatre kids, does sing (twice). The ensemble cast of Naveen’s family really adds to the overall dynamic of the film, all perfectly playing their parts as the older sister, the overbearing mother, and the reserved conservative father.

I do appreciate that although Naveen’s family already know he is gay, they never shy away from showing how the family still take some issue with who he is. The film doesn’t live, too much, in any world that is tinted with rose-colours, but instead uses this reality to have deeper conversations on the divide between generations and tensions that can arise in more traditional families. The arc of Naveen’s father, in particular, is one that is very touching, relatable to many queer kids of conservative parents, as a parent who just wants their kids to have the best and easiest life possible.

Although the film touches on a lot in its 96-minute runtime and really elevates this from the traditional rom-com, it sometimes feels like all of these conversations somewhat overpower the sweet work Soni and Groff are doing. I wish we could have seen more of their relationship as it grew before the wedding planning began, as the two are a perfect pair. But the film trusts its audience, knowing we have seen a hundred and one rom-coms, and allows us more time to breath with the new aspects they are infusing into the genre, sometimes (and a little too much) resorting to small jumps where we will fill in the blanks of the growing relationship.

On top of this, there are sometimes when the perspective of the film shifts a bit too much towards characters outside of Naveen. Where rom-coms often allow us to fully know one character’s perspective of things, we sometimes dive quite deeply into the inner thoughts of character’s like Naveen’s sister or his mother, even going so far as us hearing voiceovers from those other than Naveen. These are appreciated, but take away from the love story at the centre of the film, making it feel more like a family drama than a rom-com. Maybe that was what they were going for, but it does throw off the pace of the film a bit, and leaves much to be desired regarding Naveen and Jay’s central relationship.

All of this to say, A Nice Indian Boy stands out from its current class of rom-coms, embracing queer identity when we don’t have to start from a place of assumed straightness. The film pokes fun at generational divides, while also truly critiquing them, and the family unit as a whole. Because just like a queer person can’t change their identity, Naveen’s white-orphan-artist boyfriend will forever be just that. It is up to Naveen’s family to accept their love and new son, even if Naveen’s dad says Jay’s “freelance” job is just another word for unemployed.

A Nice Indian Boy will be released on April 4th in select theatres in Canada.