It was a homecoming like none other for former Calgarian Roshan Sethi, who after 17 years away from the city returned to acclaim for the Canadian premiere of his indie film A Nice Indian Boy.
That film, which was produced in 2023 in Vancouver and stars Sethi’s real life partner Karan Soni—best known for his roles in the Deadpool movies—premiered at SXSW in 2024 and missed the chance to play at the Calgary International Film Festival in September.
But a chance meeting by Sethi with members of the CIFF programming team in Texas gave the film a chance to have its Canadian debut with CIFF, albeit outside of the normal festival season.
“It’s so exciting, because I grew up here… and I haven’t been back since I left at the end of high school when I was 17 years old. So it’s been 17 years. It’s great. I mean, really excited to share with Calgary and with the audiences here,” said Sethi.
The film was a very personal one for both Sethi and Soni, who shot the film in three weeks up against the Hollywood writers strike.
“It’s been in development for a long time. It’s very personal. I’m gay, and I made it with my real life partner, who’s the lead of the movie. I only came out six years ago. So to have a rom com, to have made a gay rom com in that six years, is pretty crazy,” said Sethi.
“One good thing about the movies approach, which really came from the screenplay and the play, is that it is not onerous or painful about the closet. At the same time, it acknowledges the reality of how difficult it could be to be out, especially as a South Asian.”
The story of A Nice Indian Boy has Naveen, played by Soni, introducing his fiancée Jay, played by Jonathan Goff (Frozen, Mindhunter, Hamilton), to his Indian family.
Sethi said that it was his goal to make an indie movie that, in a time when watching indie movies have become chores to watch, is anything but.
Sold out audience for Canadian premiere of A Nice Indian Boy
Katherine Penhale, Executive Director for CIFF, said that while the goal is always to get films in September, bringing it out of the festival season to a sold out audience through CIFF was wonderful.
“Having more people from Calgary really sharing the talent that we have here, it’s great,” she said.
“I can guarantee that the audience is going to have a remarkable experience in that theatre, and I can’t wait to hear their thoughts on it afterwards.”
Soni said A Nice Indian Boy is quite entertaining but also has a social message at its heart.
“I think movies have such superpowers. I think one, they have to be entertaining to begin with, because I think no one wants to watch a lesson unless it’s a documentary. So, the movie is entertaining, which is great. But in the best case scenario, I think what the movie does is it humanizes people of all kinds, on age, gender, sexual identity, everything,” Soni said.
“I love going to a movie and having a preconceived notion of a certain thing and then feeling differently after. There’s something really powerful about that. I do think we’ve made something that has that, and if it even affects one person, it’s amazing. But I think it’ll entertain everyone.”
He also described it as a fun break from the action movies that he’s been best known for in his career.
“I’m queer, and I came out when I was 19, so a long time ago. A lot of this movie, I keep saying, is that the movie I wish I had to show with my parents at a certain point in my life. So, it felt very exciting to get to relive it from a not traumatic place. Also as a movie, it’s just a movie that you leave the theatre feeling really good and happy and good about life and humanity,” Soni said.
“Just at the time of making it, I was, like, in the mood for something not violent and good, and so I think that’s kind of what we’ve made.”
A Nice Indian Boy is having its wide release on April 4.
