Italian
The romantic comedy “A Nice Indian Boy,” starring Karan Soni (“Deadpool”) and Jonathan Groff (“Frozen,” “Hamilton”) is getting a nationwide theatrical release.
Levantine Films and Wayfarer Studios, which produced the film, have tapped Blue Harbor Entertainment to handle U.S. distribution, with a theatrical release date set for April 4.
The film follows Naveen (Soni) as he brings his fiancé Jay (Groff) home to meet his traditional Indian family who, as the film’s logline explains, “must contend with accepting Naveen’s white-orphan-artist boyfriend and helping them plan the Indian wedding of their dreams.” The cast also includes Sunita Mani (“Everything Everywhere All At Once,” “Spirited”), Zarna Garg (“Zarna”) and Harish Patel (“Eternals,” “Four Weddings and a Funeral”).
“A Nice Indian Boy” is directed by Roshan Sethi from a script penned by Eric Randall (“Elsbeth,” “In the Dark”), based on the play by Madhuri Shekar (“3 Body Problem” and “The Nevers”).
“I was closeted only six years ago, so it’s surreal on a personal level to have made this particular romantic comedy about love and acceptance and family belonging,” said Sethi in a statement about the distribution deal. “I am excited for it to reach the world.”
The film is produced by Levantine Films (“Hidden Figures,” “Jerry and Marge Go Large” and Maude Apatow’s upcoming directorial debut “Poetic License”) and Wayfarer Studios (following their recent box office success with “It Ends with Us” and “The Garfield Movie” as well as Oscar-contending Netflix documentary “Will & Harper”).
“When we first read Madhuri’s beloved play, we knew it was destined to become a winning film that would make audiences laugh, cry and swoon,” said Levantine Films CEO Benjamin Hung. “We feel extraordinarily lucky to have found a brilliant screenwriter in Eric and a dream director in Roshan, who bravely cast his real-life partner Karan opposite the highly charismatic Jonathan. Together, the entire cast and crew made this a reality, putting their hearts, souls and unprocessed family dynamics into a hilarious and sincere film that we could not be prouder to share with the world.”
“A Nice Indian Boy” made its world premiere at the SXSW Film Festival in March and has gone on to win awards at the Hamptons International Film Festival, the Tasveer Film Festival and the prize for “Best LGBTQ Feature” at the Key West Film Festival. The film is next set to screen at the Palm Springs Film Festival in January.
“We are absolutely thrilled by the response this film has received at festivals around the world, and we are incredibly grateful to our partners at Blue Harbor for helping us bring it to theaters nationwide,” said Andrew Calof, president of production at Wayfarer Studios. “This film is a true labor of love, filled with heart and humor.”
Ryan Haidarian of Wayfarer Studios brokered the deal with Blue Harbor.
“We are delighted to be working with Wayfarer, Levantine and Roshan to bring this endearing and charming film to audiences next year,” reads a statement on behalf of Blue Harbor. “We all appreciate the rollercoaster that families can be, and as such, we felt very connected to Naveen and his plight.”
Mindy Kaling (under her Kaling International banner) serves as an executive producer along with Jamal Daniel and Thalia Daniel for Levantine, Angela Cardon for Wayfarer, Daniel Bekerman for Scythia Films. Shekar, Soni and Garg also executive produced.
