
In many instances, it feels like the wedding is not for the couple standing at the altar but rather for their families. We have noticed especially in India, that these types of weddings are more of a family affair rather than one focusing on the particular couple getting married. But what happens when the traditional practice which is obliged across generations in the old world clashes with modern-day realism? You get beautiful, multi-layered films such as Roshan Sethi’s A Nice Indian Boy which Eric Randall has brought to the screen, adapted from the play by Madhuri Shekar.
It looks like it’s going to take a while for this genre to get popular and I think it all starts with a wedding and there is definitely holding the release of a wedding-centered rom-com for a few years. How about the title Never Have I Ever? It’s definitely not on the major list, but it is fairly popular and has sufficient buzz around it. This is where I start to have issues, however, the show is not as good as everyone makes it out to be because it does not feature an Arnold Palmer to root for. If that is the case, what show do we look up to when we want to watch wedding/cosmic gigs? There are Four Weddings and a Funeral. A Good Indian Boy is that specific title this audience has been waiting for. Such characterization seems to be perfect for the 90s, but A Good Indian Boy is perfect for today’s world. Sorry Billy Eichner, here is the romantic plot that you have been seeking for your entire life.
This cinema is solely intended for the contemporary Indian. The Indian audience tends toward a conservative disposition in action and thought. Hence, talking about things everyone avoids talking about stretches their comprehension. As the head of Lighthouse India aptly puts it, “We make unconventional and interactive films”. ‘A Nice Indian Boy’ is an Indian drama or rather an Indian coming-out movie that reflects the thoughts and emotions of contemporary Indian youth when it comes to homosexuality or being gay. Although most Indian homosexuals have come out and it is no longer a taboo, talking or adapting the very subject into a movie gives the sensation of pushing one’s infinity.
Arundhati Mann plays the role of Naveen K. Zarna Garg is busy making arrangements for a wedding. From the outset, it becomes clear that this cinema wants to make inroads into the Indian audience. The audience soon warms up to the whole Indian theme and their long-held beliefs when it comes to love and marriage.
fast forward six years on, Naveen now has that unmistakable angst seas also amplifying his social discomfort further.
One day in the temple, he encounters a white man named Jay (Jonathan Groff). After repeated admiration towards each other, Jay and the other get together, the two revelers are from completely different worlds. Jay gallops towards Naveen going ‘I’ll sing for you’, on a hot sunny street, and well given the fact that it is a first date, then yes, it does heat things up a little. Jay has no reservation in all that is considered a norm here. In the movie Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, they moan and groan about the visuals and even the screenplay Jay just simply responds to Naveed’s involvement in the movie with regards to its excessive love and drama ‘The only thing we sympathize with is love because it is mostly being strange’. What separates these two is that both of them have Indian blood in their veins. Glee aside, Jay was in a foster home for most of his childhood because both his biological parents passed away, and was later adopted by Indian Americans, even though he bears an uncanny resemblance with Jonathan Groff. Jay has always regarded vanity as something bad because he has been waiting so long to meet Navi’s family, while for Navi it’s a complete loss. He has a lot more to say and the only thing he wants is to undo all the sins that he has made towards his family and everything that he wanted to say deeply from within.
A Nice Indian Boy is a nice Indian boy, a portrayal which is a wonderful blend style whose autobiography is strong and lived exemplarily as it is seen in The Big Sick. However, A Nice Indian Boy does not shift attention to Emily’s illness like in The Big Sick, A Nice Indian Boy goes into detail about the struggles and encumbrances of being an interracial couple. Round about these patches, there are of these too, most prominently Naveen who through the movie appears to be on the verge of nomming on his tongue which at some points of the film is actually a pretty good idea as a means to end his anguish. It is rather brutal at most times though, but nevertheless, in this case, Jay does not mind even the slightest of satirical details when looking into his eyes. There is a thing about great romcoms humor, chaos, cast, and so on and almost always revolves around two people and their romance, amen, and all that does not work if the film has no such thing.
Thanks to the scripts and performances of the actors, the romance between Naveen and Jay is deftly enacted, looking larger than life, yet believable to all.
Who would have imagined, that a deep connection could develop in the midst of a heated argument between Jay, his sensei, and his lavishly decorated New York penthouse? He is saying this all of the time, but he cannot stop mentioning it, emotions can sometimes be a bit overwhelming. Nevertheless, everything seems rather nice the moment Naveen and Jay glance at each other.
The film touches on, albeit slowly and to the chagrin of many, some of the arguably most intimate and invasive aspects of human nature. The Nice Indian Boy seems to have a clear objective of specifically speaking to an Indian audience, and unlike its other target audience, social comedic romantic movies on Netflix embrace the delusional notion of the “ideal first date”. To Jaye and Naveen’s stereotype of love, the ideal first date would entail a perfect restraining order that would include massive homosexual pizza, crowded bars, and Jay along with other excesses. It was, however, a very awkward scenario the first time Jay and Naveen first went out for the drinks. She returned back to the office and immediately started complaining to her friend and colleague Paul (Peter S. Kim) about Jay’s overly aggressive behavior, which she so described, which is an experience that many people in love wish for the two have been going out for some time, now, they have an even more serious relationship.
Nonetheless, it does not refute the fact that there is a chemistry that is rather obvious to see when for example Jay is seen shoving Jay away for one moment. It was indisputably embarrassing it was somewhat cute and mildly shocking, as it could be, but, this is the case with both of them which is the interesting part about the two of them It is a contemporary version of `The Odd Couple by’ which creates the ideal setting for the society that is left to ponder on whether Naveen’s worth all the trouble that Jay comes with.
Once more, the viewpoint of previously elaborated romcoms ‘A Nice Indian Boy’ joins the supporting actors of A Nice Indian Boy. It is worth noting that A Nice Indian Boy is one of those cases that attempt to debunk the stereotype of marriage and marriage or relationships, in general, being the business of only two people on the couch. However, the two people in fact construct a premise of getting married to families. Just as Jay and Naveen for example are quite contented to both state and come to terms with the nature of the love that they bear the one to the other, it also pledges such encroachment an end of any kind of drama, but this, so to say, is easily micky-ed up to the member of the character aspect. For all of us who were once forced to hear our mother explain how Thanos was the one who got Harvey Milk, and a whole host of other things, this part of the family who was supposed to be present is nowhere to be seen for this not-so-serious network of telephone, but I emphasize that the family of the namesake is not merely peripheral or background characters and nothing else.
A Nice Indian Boy pinpoints how one can go about deep romantic relationships without taking shortcuts. Well, the movie does aim to accomplish that, however, from a growing viewpoint it shifts the tune to a point where most movies tend to fall into cliches and fail to deliver. Why do Naveen’s parents come across as such quirky people? How did they acquire such a level of cultural fixation? After all, for lack of a better term, Naveen’s sister is presented as the ideal Indian daughter. The script by Eric Randall is very well crafted and flows smoothly, and just when you are about to say that the movie is done, the audience gets another clip that in reality, most don’t even know exists. In fact, it makes sense because the movie is not just about love but about culture as well, how certain people belong to certain eras, and in essence, the movie is about family. ‘families are irreparably flawed’ is something that holds true in this narrative.
A Nice Indian Boy is among the movies that feature Roshan Sethi, Karan Soni, Zarna Garg, and Sunita Mani as the lead characters. From this casting direction, there was great promise even before they commenced, particularly in the context of Karan Soni being cast as Naveen. While on such roles this actor elaborated that it can be a bit underwhelming but an aspect of performance. We all know what is required to ease someone, who is trying to control every angle of every aspect of his space. One would expect having to first strike up a second date with someone while feeling as intimidated as Naveen initially felt would be an unmitigated disaster. But it is Soni who to an extent pulls off the exceptional performances which offer a vision of affection. At the very least, the eyes feel more than satisfied with Jonathan Groff, especially as he portrays Jay. This character is ‘too’ overconfident without substance, a wounded boy within but is utterly empty. All the buffoons seem to have more than sufficient supporting models to go off bashing each other.
Next to them, G. Kim who is Naveen’s close friend, makes for a fun watch for he encourages Naveen to live up to the modern-day expectations and shows the movie Bros to his mother.
In contrast to such rigid societal expectations, women are expected to fit within, a new change is coming up and Sunita Mani who was cast as the furious younger sister to Naveen is one such actor who challenges the unwritten rules and sheds light on so many issues that young girls encounter in such settings.
And Zarna Garg, who stars as Naveen’s Mom is such an entertaining woman that the heart-wrenching speech she delivers at the end of the film will remain in my memory. It is worth noting that there is also a dominating bullying parent-type character with some degree of sympathy regard, this time it is also the case with Naveen’s dad. In the same manner, the first part gives out a lot of stranger hints regarding Harish Patel’s thinking as he is the one who first starts enjoying the revolting climax of the film. The ensemble romances are there because they allow for divergent views to be represented, and the A Nice Indian Boy film’s script as well as the characters’ visions regarding the culture, generations, and characters of the times.
A Nice Indian Boy is the ideal movie to gift your boss, your father, or literally anyone who has never cracked a smile in their entire life because the only context they have about romcoms is courtesy of the movie Mend Over He Shoots. First of all, the movie is absolutely thrilling and petals are flying sassily in every direction it’s quite bizarre to watch all of the cast beaming from ear to ear in the last bit. Love and family are the two most important things in society which are conveyed magnificently in the movie and personally speaking, it was one of the most adorable stories that I’ve witnessed. The fact that two concepts were very involved in the movie, were love and family, nevertheless, the cast and the writers were able to work out a decent balance to make the movie less cheesy and more meaningful. An idea that is most of the time universal and bears the stamp of cultural influences and nurture is the idea of Love, trust, family, or romance in life. It’s just a matter of wording, all of us experience it and so the romance in the shot is exactly the same kind of mushy.
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