Watch: Kumail Nanjiani's The Big Sick is the inter-cultural rom-com we've been waiting for

Its a great year for diversity in Hollywood. Pakistani born Kumail Nanjiani, who stars in the comedy series Silicon Valley, debuted as a writer/actor in the romantic comedy The Big Sick this year at Sundace Film Festival, and by the reactions it has garnered, it might just be this year’s best comedy film. [caption id=“attachment_3427462” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  A still from the trailer. Image via Youtube.[/caption] Directed by Michael Showalter, the film was written by both comedian Kumail Nanjiani and his wife Emily Gordon, telling the story of their real-life romance to particularly touching effect. Kumail Nanhjiani plays an onscreen version of himself, who alternates between being a struggling comedian and Uber driver at the same time. Just when things are getting serious for Nanhjiani and Zoe Kazan’s character, there’s an inevitable clash of cultures that breaks up the burgeoning romance. Rather than going the way of the usual romantic comedies, where cultural barriers are the main hindrances to the romance, The Big Sick decides to introduce a new plot twist (also inspired by real life) that puts its heroine in a coma. Ray Romano and Holly Hunter play the helpless parents who wait for their daughter to come back to the living while she battles a serious medical infection, and Nanhjiani plays the boyfriend who tries to make himself comfortable around the grieving parents. More than showcasing Nanjiani and Zoe Kazan’s onscreen romance, the trailer focuses on the dynamics between the lost boyfriend (Nanjiani) and the grieving parents (Ray Romano and Holly Hunter), which is good because Romano and Nanjiani’s scenes together are gold. Romano’c character is intrigued by the brown man, but doesn’t want to appear racist, and Nanjiani’s character is used to being in the spotlight because of his name and religion. Maybe this is the comedy we need to see — with its nonchalant acceptance of other religions — especially in America’s current political climate. This film looks like the right, warm, fuzzy response to it. The film will release in the USA on 23 April, but there has been no word yet about a release date in India. Here is the trailer of the film which also stars Anupam Kher, Adeel Akhtar, Zenobia Shroff, Kurt Braunohler, Bo Burnham, and Aidy Bryant: