Oct 11
Jonathan Groff Wanted Karan Soni for Queer Rom-Com Even Before Knowing He's Gay
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Out actor Jonathan Groff was ahead of the curve in a couple of ways when it came to the making of the queer rom-com "A Nice Indian Boy."
Groff "was the first actor cast" for the movie, which is helmed by director Roshan Sethi, Just Jared reported. Groff came on board with an idea for who should play the part of his Indian boyfriend, Naveen: "Deadpool" actor Karan Soni.
It was a nice surprise, then, when it turned out that Soni isn't only gay, he's also Sethi's real-life partner.
But that's not all. In an interview with The Daily Beast, it emerged that "Sethi thought he'd have to work to court Groff" because, in Sethi's words, "An independent film needs a famous white person to get made." But in actuality, "Groff was already envisioning the exact film that now exists," The Beast relayed.
A synopsis for "A Nice Indian Boy" on IMDb reads, "When Naveen brings his fiancé Jay home to meet his traditional Indian family, they must contend with accepting his white-orphan-artist boyfriend and helping them plan the Indian wedding of their dreams."
So, a modern day "The Wedding Banquet" with a Bollywood sensibility, maybe? That was the impression that The Hollywood Reporter gave in its own writeup of the movie.
"The film delights in public displays and grand gestures, such that it opens and closes on a pair of weddings," THR recounted in its review. "But its real strength lies in its sensitivity toward the messy feelings, smaller acts, and platonic and familial bonds that underlie those epic shows of romance."
But the multicultural layers are more sophisticated than you might expect.
"Naveen is a shy Indian American doctor who spends his lonely evenings recording (and usually deleting) messages to former flings like 'Guess you've been eating an apple a day because you've kept this doctor away!'" THR thumbnailed.
"Photographer Jay is more confident and open, a former foster kid whose story got a happy ending when he was adopted by Indian parents," the entertainment news outlet went on to add.
"The two start dating after a chance meeting at a Hindu temple, and by the end of the second of the narrative's five acts, they're engaged."
Can a big dance number in a monsoon season downpour be far behind – or, at least, a rousing feel-good finish?
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
