“It’s so antithetical to the current political climate, which is all about exclusion and fear,” says A Nice Indian Boy director Roshan Sethi. With a 96% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 97% audience score, the rom-com has emerged as one of 2025’s most acclaimed films while also breaking new ground as one of the first mainstream Western movies to centre a gay South Asian love story.

Adapted from Madhuri Shekar’s stage play of the same name, the film follows Naveen (Karan Soni), an Indian-American doctor who introduces his white fiancé, Jay (Jonathan Groff), to his traditional family. At a time when LGBTQIA+ rights and immigrant communities are under relentless attack, the film’s warmth and optimism feels radical.

“It just shows that people want this kind of content and they crave this kind of sweet, aspirational love story that’s about the family as well,” continues Sethi. “It has almost seven million views for the trailer now, which is close to some studio films, which shows that this isn’t of obscure interest to people. There are a lot of people in America, even if they’re not the dominant political majority, who are looking for this kind of film.”

In conversation with GAY TIMES, Sethi and his real-life partner Soni discuss the historic release of A Nice Indian Boy and how it both subverts and pays homage to the rom-com genre. (If you don’t fancy a long read, stick around for the interview in video form.)

GT: A Nice Indian Boy feels like the freshest and most joyful rom-com I’ve watched in years. It’s been received so positively by such a wide range of people, not just those of the gay Asian experience. How does that feel?

Roshan: Great. We’ve been to theatres where it’s entirely white women watching the movie, having a great time. So it’s been nice to see that there’s such a range of responses, but I think in the end, specifics in good rom-coms always fall away, and people are just responding to the love.

Karan: Yeah, it’s healed all our trauma. Success heals everything. Sorry, therapy! I don’t need you anymore!

GT: The film boasts 98% on Rotten Tomatoes, which must be wonderful for you both considering the rather evil political climate we’re in?

Roshan: I was equally as pleased that our audience score was so high, which is at 97%. It just shows that people want this kind of content and they crave this kind of sweet, aspirational love story that’s about the family as well. It’s so antithetical to the current political climate, which is all about exclusion and fear. This movie is truly the exact tonal opposite of that. It has almost seven million views for the trailer now, which is close to some studio films, which shows that this isn’t of obscure interest to people. There are a lot of people in America, even if they’re not the dominant political majority, who are looking for this kind of film.