Academy rejects Deepa Mehta's 'Funny Boy' as Canada's Oscar entry, states reason as too much English dialogue The film, an adaptation of Shyam Selvadurai's 1994 novel of the same, is in Tamil and Sinhalese but also contains English dialogue Share Via Email | A+A A- By PTI LOS ANGELES: Acclaimed filmmaker Deepa Mehta's "Funny Boy", which was Canada's submission for best international film at the 93rd Academy Awards, has been rejected by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science (AMPAS) on the grounds that it contains too much English dialogue. Set in Sri Lanka during the 1970s and 1980s, "Funny Boy" explores the sexual awakening of its young protagonist Arjie (played by Arush Nand/Brandon Ingram) from a young boy, deemed "funny" by disapproving family, to a teenager enamoured by a male classmate.