Tag Archives: Karan Soni

Movie Review: A Nice Indian Boy (2024)

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3.5 Stars (out of 4)

Rent or Buy A Nice Indian Boy at Amazon

A Nice Indian Boy is an adorable romantic comedy about how the way we communicate with our family influences how we interact with everyone else, for good or ill. This adaptation of Madhuri Shekar’s play of the same name is a ton of fun.

Karan Soni stars as Naveen Gavaskar, son of mom Megha (Zarna Garg) and dad Archit (Harish Patel). In the six years since Naveen’s sister Arundhati’s (Sunita Mani) wedding, everyone within the orbit of this Indian-American family reminds Naveen that he’s expected to get married soon, too.

The thing is, Naveen is gay. His mom is supportive, if a little unsure of how to relate. She religiously watches dating shows on a queer cable channel, looking for ways to connect with her son. Dad doesn’t want to talk about his son’s sexuality, so Naveen avoids the subject, which often means avoiding his parents altogether.

While praying to Ganesh at the temple, Naveen notices a handsome white guy come in and do the same. When they run into each other again, it seems like divine intervention. The guy is Jay Kurundkar (Jonathan Groff), a former foster child who was adopted by an Indian couple, who are now deceased. Jay asks Naveen on a date to see a screening of his late dad’s favorite movie: Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge.

Jay is as emotionally open and sincere as Naveen is closed off, but their attraction is real. They fall in love, and eventually Naveen has to do the thing he’s dreaded: introduce Jay to his parents. Bringing home a white boyfriend requires understanding and finesse. Naveen bungles this spectacularly.

Lesser movies manufacture conflict from misunderstandings that could’ve been prevented with a simple conversation. Here, the the inability of the Gavaskars to talk with one another about their feelings is the point of the film. The dysfunction extends beyond Jay and his parents and includes Arundhati as well, who’s wilting under the pressure of being the perfect Desi daughter. The fact that none of them feel like they can freely discuss what they want with one another makes all of them miserable and adds a layer of artifice to their relationships.

The centrality of the relationships between the Gavaskars is more than just a source of character development. It’s world building. Naveen’s learned defensiveness informs the life he’s built for himself and the relationships he has with everyone in it. If Naveen can’t be honest with his parents, he can’t be honest with Jay, either.

All of this dysfunction is depicted in a really relatable way. Naveen’s emotional distance is frustrating but understandable, because we know where he comes from. Soni does an excellent job making sure the audience always roots for Naveen to become his best self. Groff’s Jay is sweet but secure enough that he’d walk away if he finds the romance more trouble than it’s worth.

The Gavaskar family is delightful. Garg is an hilarious nosy mom who plays well off of Patel’s taciturn dad. Mani deftly navigates Arundhati through a low moment, made easier to stomach because we understand the family she comes from.

Shekar’s story is truly charming, and director Roshan Sethi and screenwriter Eric Randall do a lovely job adapting it for the big screen. Like Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, A Nice Indian Boy reminds us why we love stories about love.

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Movie Review: Four Samosas (2022)

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3 Stars (out of 4)

Rent or buy Four Samosas at Amazon

Four aimless friends in Los Angeles’s Little India neighborhood rob a grocery store in the goofy heist movie Four Samosas. A well-established sense of place and likeable characters make this indie comedy a delight to watch.

Life came to a standstill for Vinny (Venk Potula) when his girlfriend Rina (Summer Bishil) broke up with him. That was three years ago. He works in a sari shop, still wearing his old gym uniform from middle school. His confidence is so low that he won’t share his rap lyrics with anyone but his younger cousin and biggest fan, Nikki (Maya Kapoor).

When he finds out that Rina is engaged to a manure salesman from India named Sanjay (Karan Soni), Vinny comes up with a plan: steal the diamonds that are set aside to pay for Rina’s wedding. See, Rina’s dad (played by Tony Mirrcandani) is one of the neighborhood big shots. He owns a grocery store, which makes him rich — at least by comparison to Vinny and his friends.

Vinny gathers a crew of oddballs to help him steal the diamonds from the grocery store safe, tailoring his reasons for the theft to the person. He appeals to his wannabe actor buddy Zak (Nirvan Patnaik) out of friendship. He convinces the “under-over-achiever” Anjali (Sharmita Bhattacharya) that some of the money will go to charity (although she’s really just interested in spending time with her crush, Zak). Finally, there’s Paru (Sonal Shah) — a “malcontent engineer” who’s eager to wreak havoc while she waits in endless limbo for her green card.

The world in Four Samosas is tiny, no bigger than the neighborhood where the characters work and live. It’s the reason why Vinny can convince himself that stealing from Rina’s dad will help him achieve whatever it is he thinks it will achieve. It also makes the obstacles to the plan very local and small potatoes, from neighbors putting on a play about King Ashoka to another group of slackers petitioning to build an independent South Asian state on an empty piece of land near the railroad tracks.

Even if it’s not strictly realistic, Four Samosas feels authentic. The character growth driving the whole story — Vinny needs to either confess his love to Rina or move on — is modest enough to suit the setting.

The real treats in Four Samosas are the performances. Everyone understands the assignment and executes, but there are a few standouts. Maya Kapoor’s shouty, pizza-centric rap audition as Cousin Nikki is bonkers. Samrat Chakrabarti has an amazing cameo in a double role as Sunny and Salim: characters from a fictitious movie about twin brothers separated at birth who avenge their mother’s death.

But the absolute star of Four Samosas is Sharmita Bhattacharya. She is hysterical as Anjali, and every line is delivered for maximum laughs. The movie is very good, but she’s simply fantastic.

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