As someone who identifies as being part Indian, Indian representation in Western media always catches my interest.
For a brief period between the late nineties and early noughties, desi flavoured rom coms were in. Think Gurinder Chadha’s Bend it Like Beckham in 2002 and Bride and Prejudice in 2004. Both were fluffy outings with a healthy dose of colourful cultural explosions.
So when A Nice Indian Boy came up on my list of movies, I couldn’t help but wonder – will this be the renaissance of that 90s-00s genre?
Refreshingly, no.
While there are certainly moments of colour during the movie, it does not devolve into a ninety minute exhibition of desi-ness. I’ve made this comment before in my review of local comic Dr Ahmed’s stand up show, but it is refreshing to see desi voices that are not all pappadums and pakoras. While family and cultural identity are important themes in this movie, it is not the only focal points.
By introducing queer characters into this movie, Roshan Sethi manages to steer the movie from cliche to contemplative.
Naveen is a gay Indian doctor who is painfully, socially awkward. As he doesn’t live at home with his family, we are able to see the two opposing sides of his character: the meek, fillial son and the sexually frustrated, unfiltered gay man.
Karan Soni wears Naveen’s awkwardness like a second skin. He projects his nervous energy so well that you can’t help but wonder if he is a good actor or whether he’s just playing himself.
Naveen meets Jay, the most Indian white man he could ever hope to meet. If Jay was female, Naveen’s family would wholeheartedly approve of this orphan who was adopted by an Indian family.
Of course, as the plot progresses, we see Naveen bring Jay home to meet the parents. Predictably, it is a train wreck of an outing.
However, the disastrous dinner meeting is a catalytic device. Over dinner, we see the tiny cracks form in the characters and their relationship. A Nice Indian Boy seizes theis opportunity to quietly shed a light at the nuances inherent in Indian families, where love and marriage is concerned.
I especially loved seeing Harish Patel’s patriarch, Archit, evolve. It would have been so easy to just leave him as the stiff-lipped, reticient dad. Instead, we are shown another side to him, a softer side which cares deeply for his family.
This is just one of the unexpectedly heartwarming moments in A Nice Indian Boy. The movie may not be groundbreaking cinema but it is full of heart. It feeds the soul just as a good family dinner would, while also giving one food for thought.
A Nice Indian Boy opens at Luna Palace Cinemas on 10th July.