Tina Kakadelis
There are many people who lament the loss of good rom-coms. We have been in a drought, but A Nice Indian Boy is the first sign of rain. The film centers on Naveen (Karan Soni), a quiet doctor who is closed off from the world around him. His parents (Zarna Garg & Harish Patel) know he’s gay and are waiting for him to bring home a nice Indian boy to marry. That boy (Jonathan Groff) just so happens to be white, but adopted by older Indian parents.
Ahead of A Nice Indian Boy‘s theatrical release, director Roshan Sethi, actor Karan Soni, and actor Zarna Garg sat down with Film Obsessive News Editor Tina Kakadelis to discuss the inevitable comparisons to My Big Fat Greek Wedding, the best part about South Asian weddings, and love. This transcript has been edited for length and clarity.
Film Obsessive: I want to start with your first impression after reading the play the movie is based on or the screenplay.
Roshan Sethi: I loved both the play and the screenplay, which I read at the exact same time. I just thought they were incredible. Such a unique blend of comedy, emotion, and a really skillful use of dialogue. It felt like my family and my upbringing. The writing was the major draw.
Karan Soni: I read the play before I read the film script. It’s a rare thing that happens with acting where you read something and you’re like, did someone write this for me? It felt so specific, even though it wasn’t written for me. It’s an exciting thing because you go like, oh, I can really work with this and this can be really fun. It was exciting to hear it was becoming a movie.
Zarna Garg: I didn’t read the play, but I read the screenplay. I was so happy for two reasons. One, finally, there was a happy Brown people movie. Just happiness and joy around Brown people. It showed the way we experience joy. How we sing, dance, laugh, and cry together. This is how we live. And two, it was not a movie about coming out. We’re past that. We are now in 2025, we’re over this. If that was the story, I would not have done it because we don’t live that way. I was so happy this movie was forward-looking.
Karan: I will say, Zarna, as we were making this movie, we’ve educated you on some things you weren’t familiar with. Your husband learned about open relationships through us, and he was fascinated. I mean, he wouldn’t stop asking questions and how open relationships work (laughs).
Zarna: Listen, he knows that as I get more famous, he’s on his way out. I mean, let’s be honest. He’s trying to figure out his next steps.
I’m Greek, so My Big Fat Greek Wedding is a huge hit in the family…
Roshan: Zarna’s sort of been insulting My Big Fat Greek Wedding all day!
Zarna: I’m not insulting it. No, no, but I have a problem with the movie. I’m telling you, Tina, it’s a good movie. No doubt about it, it’s a good movie, but I have a problem with the Greeks having the biggest wedding movie for two decades when we are the wedding people! You guys made a classic that has been so hard to topple. No one has come close to it in two decades! It’s been killing me. It killed me so much. There’s no Greek yogurt allowed in our house until we take this throne. We’re now going to fix this. Listen, you guys should still make movies. Make movies about great hair. There are other topics for you to do.
There’s an idea that specificity makes art a universal experience, right? Even though I’m not part of an Indian family, it felt like I was just listening to my Greek family. To preserve my heritage, I can’t say that you’ve toppled it, but…
Roshan: Wow! We’ll have to ask a non-Greek person because you’re biased. But My Big Fat Greek Wedding is one of my favorite movies of all time.
Zarna: The dad in that movie had my heart. Oh my God, I think I walked around with a Windex bottle for years.
Roshan: Yeah, it was just so real. It’s amazing how many people identified with that. I don’t know any Greek people in real life. This is the first time I’m talking to a Greek person about My Big Fat Greek Wedding. I was always like, what do they think?
We’re big fans. Are you seeing a similar reaction to A Nice Indian Boy from Indian people?
Roshan: It’s similar in the sense that the movie tested highest among white women. It’s the same thing in that it’s so specific that it actually becomes universal. The movie really, truly is for everyone. The same way My Big Fat Greek Wedding was for everyone. So many people saw their families in that movie who weren’t even remotely Greek. But yes, the South Asian community has loved our movie.
That’s fantastic. One of the main themes of the movie that I thought was so interesting is the way love is expressed, whether it should be loud or quiet. How do you all feel about love being shared in small and large ways?
Roshan: We probably have different answers based on who we are. For me, love is just really loud. I’m declaring it at all times, but I won’t do any acts of service. For example, Karan really wants me to put out the trash because it makes him feel loved for me to put out the trash. It’s so hard for me to understand, and instead I just tell him and everybody how much I love him. I stare at him constantly. I trail behind him like a lost puppy, but I never put out the trash.
Karan: For me, love is…I think I’m more reserved, quiet, and not showy. I’ve always had a hard time with anyone doing public displays of affection, but I think it’s because I grew up in India. We don’t French kiss and make out in public. To me, my love language is acts of service. It’s those little things that, to me, feel like love.
Zarna: Roshan, I think that was shade.
Roshan: Yeah (laughs), he’s been telling me for years.
Karan: I pay the rent, I pay the property tax, and I buy the garbage bags. I buy the food that’s in the garbage bags. Maybe you could just take it out…
Zarna: I personally don’t believe in love at all. There’s just no need for it in my life. Like who am I splitting my health insurance with? What is the plan I’m on? How responsible is it? That’s what it’s all about, people. Love is too complicated. There are too many complications surrounding love. I can’t get into it.
Karan: You know, this really famous poet once said practical people win.
My last question for you guys is because you’ve named yourselves the wedding people. What’s the best part about an Indian or South Asian wedding?
Karan: The food. They have every cuisine. It’s really wild. If you go to a big Indian wedding in India, every country is represented. The only thing wrong with the food is they don’t put it out until like 11:00 p.m. You’re eating a lot of carbs at two in the morning. So there’s that, but I think the food can’t be beat.
Roshan: I like the choreographed dances. I think they’re cute. Like when the cousins do a dance. I hate wedding speeches. I think they’re dumb. It’s just a bad genre of writing. It’s always really bad writing. It brings out the worst in people. The forced jokes, the contrived atmosphere, the valorization of a bride and groom as if they’re saints simply for having gotten married. The whole thing is just so dead in the water, but the dance I love.
Zarna: Yeah, I would agree with that. I think the best part of an Indian wedding is that no one’s focused on the bride or the groom. It’s not about them. It’s about the families. It’s about the fun. When I first learned what American weddings were like…the whole idea of bridezilla, I couldn’t even wrap my head around it. I really thought for a long time that American brides wore white so the guests could shine in colorful outfits. The guests are decked out. They don’t care that they’re upstaging because they’re the stars. It’s a big party for everyone who’s invited. Nobody cares what those two are doing on the side.
Thank you guys so much. I absolutely love the film. Again, I can’t go against my heritage, but it is up there…
Roshan: Tell some Greek people! We did our part. We supported your community. Tell those Greek people to come out and support ours.
Absolutely! I’ll tell my family.
Zarna: Tell Nick, Nick, and Nick!
