Jonathan Groff Archives

Review: ‘A Nice Indian Boy,’ starring Karan Soni, Jonathan Groff, Sunita Mani, Zarna Garg, Harish Patel, Peter S. Kim and Sas Goldberg

April 28, 2025

by Carla Hay

Karan Soni and Jonathan Groff in “A Nice Indian Boy” (Photo courtesy of Blue Harbor Entertainment)

Directed by Roshan Sethi

Some language in Hindi with subtitles

Culture Representation: Taking place in Vancouver, the comedy/drama film “A Nice Indian Boy” (based on the play of the same name) features a predominantly Asian cast of characters (with a few white people) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: An Indian Canadian doctor, who is openly gay, meets and falls in love with an openly gay white photographer, and the doctor worries about commitment issues and whether or not his own parents will accept their interracial relationship.

Culture Audience: “A Nice Indian Boy” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in romantic comedies/dramas with likable characters dealing with LGBTQ relationships and family issues.

Harish Patel, Karan Soni, Zarna Garg and Sunita Mani in “A Nice Indian Boy” (Photo courtesy of Blue Harbor Entertainment)

“A Nice Indian Boy” follows the same formulas of romantic comedies where one person in a couple is more commitment-phobic than the other. However, this charming movie has a rare perspective of an interracial gay couple confronting family differences. If “A Nice Indian Boy” falls short on surprises, it more than makes up for it with a vibrant authenticity that can resonate with anyone who has experiences with adult relationships.

Directed by Roshan Sethi and written by Eric Randall, “A Nice Indian Boy” had its world premiere at the 2024 SXSW Film & TV Festival. The movie is based on Madhuri Shekar’s “A Nice Indian Boy” play that had a stint in Los Angeles in 2014. “A Nice Indian Boy” takes place in Vancouver, where the movie was filmed on location.

“A Nice Indian Boy” is told from the perspective of and narrated by 31-year-old Naveen Gavaskar (played by Karan Soni), an introverted and socially awkward doctor, who works at Karloff Memorial Hospital. Naveen is openly gay and looking for love, mostly on dating apps. The movie’s opening scene is a flashback to the lavish wedding of Naveen’s overachieving younger sister Arundhathi (played by Sunita Mani), who has seemingly found her ideal match in her husband Manish Rao (played by Sachin Sahel), who would go on to become an orthopedic surgeon.

In voiceover narration, Naveen says of this wedding: “I was 25 when my sister got married. This was the best day of my mother’s life” because his mother was proud that Arundhathi had married “a nice Indian boy.” Although Naveen is out of the closet to his family and close friends, a lot of the guests at the wedding don’t know that he is gay. And so, he has several people commenting to him at the wedding that he will be next to have a big Indian wedding, and they assume that he will be marrying a woman.

“Just one concern,” Naveen says in the voiceover. “What would it be like if I brought home a nice Indian boy?” Naveen’s family knows that he is gay. He just hasn’t introduced them to any of his boyfriends or lovers. It’s an emotional roadblock that Naveen has to covercome if he wants a serious and committed relationship.

Naveen’s mother Megha Gavaskar (played by Zarna Garg) is opinionated and has a tendency to be overbearing. For example, an early scene in the movie, Megha calls Naveen at his job to remind him to renew his AAA car insurance membership. Megha, tries hard to be a supportive parent to her gay son, but she admits she doesn’t know much about what to talk to him about. And so, she says things to Naveen such as she likes to watch Out TV and movies like the Oscar-winning “Milk,” a biopic about gay civil rights activist Harvey Milk, who was murdered in San Francisco in 1978.

Naveen’s father Archit Gavaskar (played by Harish Patel) is much quieter and more laid-back than Megha. However, he’s not so laid-back about Naveen’s sexuality. He’s uncomfortable talking to Naveen about Naveen being gay. Archit seems to have a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy when it comes to Naveen’s love life.

Archit and Megha had an arranged marriage, which affects their views on how their children should approach marriage. Although Megha says that spouses in arranged marriages can learn to love each other (or at least like each other), Megha seems bored and restless in her own marriage. Most of the time that she’s with Archit, she seems to be irritated by him.

That’s because Megha thinks Archit has gotten lazy in their relationship and believes that he takes her for granted. The more that Megha seems annoyed by Archit, the more he shuts down emotionally, which causes a cycle of frustration in their marriage. Observant viewers will notice as the movie goes on that Naveen is a lot like his father Archie in how he has difficulty expressing his emotions, while Arundhathi is a lot like her mother Megha by being very outspoken with her emotions.

“A Nice Indian Boy” is told in four chapters. Chapter 1 is titled “The Boy.” Chapter 2 is titled “The Love.” Chapter 3 is titled “The Family.” Chapter 4 is titled “The Music.” Most movies about gay men who introduce a boyfriend to family members for the first time have to do with anxieties over the whether or not the family will accept the boyfriends’ queerness. In “A Nice Indian Boy,” the anxieties have more to do with racial acceptance.

Naveen’s closest friend is his lively co-worker Paul (played by Peter S. Kim), who is also an openly gay doctor. Paul encourages Naveen to go out and meet more potential love partners in person at fun events instead of online. A comedic montage shows a lonely Naveen calling men he’s made contact in the past to try to reconnect and leaving a series of awkward voice mail messages.

One day, Naveen is praying at a Hindu temple when a good-looking man (played by Jonathan Groff), who’s in his 30s, sits down behind Naveen and prays too. Naveen barely glances at this stranger but seems to be aware that this man is physically attractive. It won’t be long before Naveen will see him again.

One day, the hospital employees are getting their photo portraits done. The photographer is a handsome and friendly frelancer named Jay Kurundkar (played by Jonathan Groff), who is much more open about his feelings than Naveen. Jay and Naveen are instantly attracted to each other. Jay asks Naveen out on a date, and Naveen nervously says yes.

During this first date, they see a movie and then go to a gay bar. Jay tells Naveen that Jay (who has no siblings) spent his early childhood in foster homes and was adopted by Indian parents, who are now decased because Jay’s adoptive parents adopted him much later in their lives. Jay also mentions that his favorite movie is the 1995 romantic Bollywood drama “Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge.”

Jay isn’t shy about being occasionally dorky, such as when he sings lines from “Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge” to Naveen. Jay also vapes marijuana during the date and admits that he vapes when he’s nervous. This vaping results in a pivotal scene that affects Jay’s relationship with Naveen. Naveen is much more self-conscious and stoic during the date. Jay interprets it as Naveen not being very interested in him.

For example, Jay also opens up to Naveen about what Jay’s fantasy wedding would be like. He describes a big ceremony and reception with a lot of joy and choreographed dancing and at least one song from “Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge.” Naveen barely reacts out of nervousness, but Jay gets embarrassed because he thinks he might have turned off Naveen by talking about his dream wedding on their first date.

“A Nice Indian Boy” has some plot development clichés, but what the movie handles very well is the dialogue. This is not a movie where the would-be couple have an amazing first date. It’s not a completely terrible first date. It’s a realistic first date that shows two strangers trying to get to know each other better and doing their best not to make a bad impression on the other.

Jay eagerly brings Naveen into Jay’s world, by inviting Naveen to Jay’s photo gallery exhibit and by bringing Naveen to a house party, where Jay introduces Naveen to Jay’s supportive friends Billie (played by Sas Goldberg) and Neel (played by Sean Amsing). The problem is that Naveen is much more reluctant to bring Jay into Naveen’s world. Naveen keeps postponing the opportunity for Jay to meet Naveen’s family.

As already shown in the trailer for “A Nice Indian Boy,” Jay eventually does meet Naveen’s family. But that doesn’t mean it’s all smooth sailing from there, because Naveen’s parents expected him to have a partner with Indian heritage. And because the caste system is part of Indian culture, there’s some social-class snobbery from Naveen’s parents, who are disappointed that Jay has a job that has less stability and a much lower income than Naveen’s doctor job.

In addition to having appealing dialogue, “A Nice Indian Boy” has very entertaining performances from all the principal cast members. Naveen and Jay are an “opposites attract” couple, but it looks believable. Garg gives a standout performances as strong-willed matriarch Megha, who has a lot more sensitivity and vulnerability than she shows to most people.

The movie also shows in meaningful ways how the marriage experiences of Naveen’s parents and sister affect their perspectives and attitudes. Certain people in the family have to learn how to gracefully deal with disappointments when life doesn’t go exactly as planned. Rather than reducing the love story of Naveen and Jay to being a “will they or won’t they get married” dilemma, “A Nice Indian Boy” goes beyond the wedding issues and offers an adorable (but not too cutesy) tale of a family navigating changes without losing love for each other.

Blue Harbor Entertainment released “A Nice Indian Boy” in select U.S. cinemas on April 4, 2025. The movie will be released on digital and VOD on May 9, 2025.

Review: ‘Knock at the Cabin,’ starring Dave Bautista, Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Kristen Cui, Abby Quinn and Rupert Grint

February 1, 2023

by Carla Hay

“Knock at the Cabin”

Directed by M. Night Shyamalan

Culture Representation: Taking place primarily in an unnamed city in Pennsylvania, the horror film “Knock at the Cabin” features a racially diverse cast of characters (white, Asian and African American) representing the working-class and middle-class.

Culture Clash: Two husbands and their 7-year-old adopted daughter are held hostage in a remote cabin by four strangers, who tell them that one of the family members must choose to kill another family member, or else there will be an apocalypse that will kill everyone on Earth except the three family members.

Culture Audience: “Knock at the Cabin” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan and horror movies with apocalyptic themes.

Abby Quinn, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Dave Bautista and Rupert Grint in “Knock at the Cabin” (Photo by PhoByMo/Universal Pictures)

The apocalyptic horror film “Knock at the Cabin” has a more predictable story than the novel on which it is based, but the movie still delivers many tension-filled scenes and memorable characters. The cast members, particularly Ben Aldridge and Kristen Cui, elevate the film with their credible performances. “Knock at the Cabin” is one of those movies where you can figure out from watching the trailers how everything is probably going to end. It’s one of the few movies from filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan that does not have a shocking twist.

Shyamalan directed “Knock at the Cabin” and co-wrote the movie’s screenplay with Steve Desmond and Michael Sherman. The movie’s screenplay is adapted from Paul Tremblay’s 2018 novel “The Cabin at the End of the World,” which has a very different turn of events than the movie version of this book. It’s easy to see why the filmmakers chose to make these changes, because there are many things in the book that would not be as “crowd-pleasing” to movie audiences.

Even though “Knock at the Cabin” plays it very safe in how the movie was adapted from the book, there’s still enough in the movie that brings a level of gripping suspense, thanks to skilled editing and capable acting performances. Except for flashbacks and scenes showing events on TV news, “Knock at the Cabin” takes place primarily in a remote area in an unnamed city in Pennsylvania. The filmmakers of “Knock at the Cabin” wisely chose not to clutter up the movie with extraneous characters and locations that are not in “The Cabin at the End of the World.”

“Knock at the Cabin” begins with showing a kind and intelligent 7-year-old girl named Wen (played by Cui) collecting grasshoppers in an open field and putting them in a bottle. Wen is an aspiring veterinarian—she says she wants to be “take care of animals” when she grows up. She is cataloguing the statistics of the grasshoppers that she has collected, and she has even named the grasshoppers. Wen (who is an only child) and her two gay fathers Andrew (played by Aldridge) and Eric (played by Jonathan Groff) are on a vacation trip in this isolated wooded area of Pennsylvania, where the family is staying at a cabin.

Suddenly, a hulking man named Leonard (played by Dave Bautista) emerges from the woods. He approaches Wen and makes small talk with her. At first Wen is wary of this stranger, but she starts to warm up to him when he shows an interest in her grasshopper collection by helping her get a grasshopper and asking her about the collection. Wen says she will turn 8 years old in six days. Leonard tells Wen that he wants to be her friend and he needs to go inside the home where her parents are.

Leonard is not alone. He has three companions with him, who all have the same intentions. Redmond (played by Rupert Grint) has an angry personality. Sabrina (played by Nikki Amuka-Bird) has a calm personality. Adriane (played by Abby Quinn) has a cheerful personality. Leonard is their leader, and he has a “take charge” personality. All four of these strangers are armed and dangerous.

As already shown in the movie’s trailers, all four of these strangers break into the cabin and take Andrew, Eric and Wen hostage. Andrew and Eric put up a fight in self-defense. Eric gets into a losing brawl with Sabrina, and he gets a concussion from being knocked to the ground. Andrew and Eric are then tied to chairs, although (as the movie trailer already reveals) Wen is not tied up, and she briefly escapes.

Leonard tells this captured family that they have to make a choice: someone in the family has to voluntarily kill someone else in the family, or else there will be an apocalypse where everyone on Earth except this family of three will be killed. Every time someone in the family refuses to kill someone else in the family, a plague will descend on Earth until the world-ending apocalypse will happen.

Andrew (the more outspoken and more assertive husband) is immediately skeptical and thinks that these four strangers are mentally ill. Andrew mentions later in the movie that he’s a human rights attorney, which goes a long way in explaining why Andrew thinks he can argue his way out of this horrible situation. At first, Andrew and Eric also think that this home invasion is a hate crime because Andrew and Eric are a gay couple. But Leonard denies it and says that he and his three cohorts did not know in advance that the targeted family would have a same-sex couple.

Andrew and Eric refuse to kill anyone in their family. As already shown in the movie’s trailer, as a result, a plague happens that kills numerous people near the Pacific Ocean. (Shyamalan continues his tradition of appearing in small roles as an actor in the movies that he directs. In “Knock at the Cabin,” he briefly appears on the cabin’s TV set as a co-host of an infomercial that is interrupted by breaking news.) Leonard shows the family the TV news to prove that this plague happening.

Andrew is convinced that the four strangers knew in advance that this catastrophe was going to happen. Leonard insists that he, Sabrina, Leonard and Adriane were all strangers with the same visions who found each other through the Internet. Leonard also says that several families over time have had to make the same decision. And he emphatically states that he, Sabrina, Leonard and Adriane are “heartbroken” that they have to force Andrew and Eric to make this life-changing decision.

In order to make themselves relatable, Leonard and the rest of the home invaders tells the captured family more about themselves. Leonard says he’s from Chicago and has two jobs: He’s an elementary schoolteacher who runs an after-school program for second graders, and he’s a bartender.

Sabrina is a hospital nurse who works at an intensive-care unit in Southern California. She says she feel guilty about Eric getting injured in their fight, so she tends to Eric’s head wounds. Sabrina also says that the rules are that Eric must be thinking clearly when making his decision with Andrew. But who exactly is making these “rules”?

Adriane says she’s a line cook at a Mexican restaurant in Washington, D.C. “I love to feed people,” she adds. Later in the movie, Adriane says she has a pre-teen son named Charlie, and she begs the hostage family to not let the apocalypse happen, or else her son is going to die.

Redmond is an ex-con who works at a gas company in Medford, Massachusetts. He mentions coming from an abusive family where “my father used to beat the shit out of me.” Later, Andrew is convinced that he knows Redmond from a traumatic event that happened in Andrew’s past.

As the tension builds over what decision will be made, “Knock at the Cabin” shows flashbacks of Andrew and Eric’s life together before this home invasion. Viewers will find out that Andrew’s parents (played by McKenna Kerrigan and Ian Merrill Peakes) disapprove of him being gay, while Eric’s mother (who is never seen in the movie) is accepting of Eric’s sexuality. Andrew and Eric also went to China to adopt Wen when she was a baby, but Andrew had to pretend to be the brother of Eric’s non-existent wife, in order to avoid any homophobic restrictions that would prevent them from adopting Wen.

There are also flashbacks to happy family times with Andrew, Eric and Wen, such as when they’re driving in their car while K.C. and the Sunshine Band’s 1975 hit song “Boogie Shoes” is playing. Andrew, Eric and Wen love this song so much, they sing loudly and joyfully move to the beat of the song. “Boogie Shoes” will be used again later in the movie in an emotionally powerful scene.

Because “Knock at the Cabin” is a horror movie, not everyone will make it out alive. At a certain point, it becomes very obvious which of the husbands will be more open to the idea of killing someone in the family, in order to save the world. But will that husband be able to convince his spouse?

There are no real surprises in “Knock at the Cabin,” except for how much the movie removed some of the risk-taking plot developments from “The Cabin at the End of the World.” With a total running time of 100 minutes, “Knock at the Cabin” is a taut thriller that doesn’t drag on for longer than the story needed, although some parts of the movie get a little repetitive. Knock at the Cabin” is a very Hollywood movie version of the book, but it’s ultimately satisfactory entertainment for horror fans who don’t want to see anything too disturbing on screen.

Universal Pictures will release “Knock at the Cabin” in U.S. cinemas on February 3, 2023.