In August last year, Pakistani actor Ali Kazmi revealed that he was roped in for an exciting project and would begin filming soon. While most of the details surrounding the venture were kept under tight wraps, it seems like Deepa Mehta’s film, an adaptation of Shyam Selvadurai’s Sri Lanka-set coming-of-age novel Funny Boy, is eyeing a whopping release towards the end of the year. In greater news, it has been picked up by Ava DuVernay’s ARRAY Releasing and will land on Netflix this December, reported Variety. Kazmi shared the same on his Instagram handle. “Two Avant-garde Women, creative powerhouses #Deepamehta #avaduvernay, One Superbly gifted time transcending Writer #shyamselvadurai and A beautiful team of humans from all across the globe (Srilanka, Canada, USA, Pakistan and India) that one dreams of working with!” he wrote.
Kazmi added, “Coming of age, Family, politics, sexuality, love in strange times and circumstances set in the 70s and 80s but even more relevant today. It’s a film based on the critically acclaimed novel “Funny boy”, its relevancy transcends time, race, religion and cultures. It Puts up a mirror to reflect the human condition. It takes a lot of hard work, literal blood sweat and tears to bring a film to life and I’m so proud to be a part of this one’s journey! There’s nothing Funny about #Funnyboy! I Can’t wait for you all to experience it December 10th, 2020! Sit tight, The ride has just begun!”
Shot in Colombo, Mehta’s Funny Boy is based on protagonist Arjie’s (Arush Nand/Brandon Ingram) sexual awakening from a young boy, deemed “funny” by his disapproving family, to a teenager smitten by one of his male peers, just as political tensions escalate between the Sinhalese and Tamils in the years leading up to the 1983 uprisings — violence that led into a 26-year civil war. Variety revealed the film comprises of mind-blowing performances by a star-studded cast of actors Ingram, Nimmi Harasgama, Kazmi, Agam Darshi, Seema Biswas, Rehan Mudannayake and Shivantha Wijesinha. It is produced by David Hamilton, with Howard Shore having worked on the score. Teresa Font served as editor while Douglas Koch is the cinematographer. Funny Boy will debut on Netflix in the US, UK, New Zealand and Australia on December 10.
