A Nice Indian Boy, directed by Roshan Sethi and written by Eric Randall (based on the play by Madhuri Shekar), world premiered at the SXSW Film & Television Festival last year in the Narrative Spotlight Section. The narrative feature film is a comedy, drama, and romance script. I saw the film last year, and it was enjoyable to see it in a great venue like the Zack Theater, full of film fans.
I was happy to receive the news that the film would have a theatrical release early this month (April 4th). Although it was released in theaters from coast to coast, it was not in Austin theaters. Last week, the update was that the film was held over in some of the theaters, and perhaps others were added. As of this writing, I learned that it has arrived in Austin and is available at the Southwest Theaters (also known as Lake Creek 7), with showtimes available today, April 18th.
The script is well-written, and the performances are all good. I would gladly view it again. The script weaves so much about family and relationships that some similarities can be seen in most families, no matter where we hail from.
SYNOPSIS
Naveen Gavaskar is a self-effacing, soft-spoken doctor with a boisterous mother, a seemingly perfect sister, and a quiet father. The Gavaskars are outwardly accepting of Naveen’s sexuality but have never had to confront it in practice.
While at the temple, Naveen meets Jay Kurundkar, a white man adopted by two Indian parents. Jay’s sincerity and confidence slowly charm and soften Naveen. They fall in love—even as Naveen avoids telling his family about Jay.
One afternoon, they run into Naveen’s brother-in-law, and an embarrassed Naveen describes Jay as a “friend.” The encounter precipitates a discussion in which Naveen admits that he, like Jay, dreams of having a big Indian wedding. Now, Jay, who has no family of his own, must meet the Gavaskars –– Naveen’s family. This meeting causes a collision between the family, Jay—who has his own insecurities—and Naveen, who is caught between who he is with his family and who he is outside of it.
After comic misunderstandings, frank fights, and emotional revelations, the family falls apart, questioning everything. Naveen and Jay’s hard-won love makes each Gavaskar face the reality of their relationships. Through a sweetly woven reconciliation, they come together again to plan Naveen and Jay’s big, Indian wedding.
Cast: Karan Soni (Deadpool, Abbott Elementary), Jonathan Groff (Frozen, Hamilton), Sunita Mani (Everything Everywhere All at Once, GLOW), Zarna Garg (To the Letter), Harish Patel (Eternals, Run Fatboy Run), Peter S. Kim (HouseBroken, Fairfax), Sas Goldberg (Only Murders in the Building, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel).
To find the list of theaters where the film is available, visit aniceindianboy.com/buy-tickets
Source: Levantine Films, SXSW