Film: A Nice Indian Boy

I usually choose lesser-known international films to watch on flights, often opting for Japanese cinema. However, on my flight to Seoul, I found Indian films to be particularly appealing. Although ‘The Nice Indian Boy’ is an American film, it still qualifies, especially since I had never heard of it before.

The Boy in question is Naveen, a doctor born to middle-class parents in the US. Right from the start, we delve into the familiar narrative of Indian parents, who, on screen, seem to have children solely to see them married. As his sister’s wedding, as is traditional, everyone tells him that he will be next, even though he has yet to come out to his family as gay.y as gay.

Photographer Jay arrives to take staff portraits at Naveen's workplace. We quickly discover that Jay, a white man, [spoiler alert] was adopted by Indian parents, which explains his knowledge of Bollywood films. The gentle, aid back, Jay tried to bring the shy Naveen out of his shell.

Next step is meeting Naveen’s parents/coming out (I can’t recall what order that happened. Also, I may be getting a bit mixed up with the Paul Sinha memoir, also a gay Indian doctor, which I had started reading on this trip).

With humour throughout, A Nice Indian Boy is ultimately a feel-good film. What I loved most was learning about both Jay’s background and Naveen’s parents' relationship. In fact, there is a fair bit of focus on them, which could inspire another film.

7½/10