Local fans can look forward to ‘The Billionaire’ in cinemas soon

By Sashini Rodrigo

Once again representing Sri Lanka on a global stage, classical singer, actor and independent filmmaker Gehan Cooray will soon debut his first feature film ‘The Billionaire’ in Colombo. Gehan took on multiple roles in the making of this film, including Executive Producer, Lead Actor, and Chief Editor/Post-Production Supervisor.

‘The Billionaire’ is Gehan’s contemporary, gender-swapped adaptation of George Bernard Shaw’s 1936 play ‘The Millionairess’. Gehan plays the lead role of Victor Ognisanti di Parerga, a young gay billionaire of Sri Lankan descent who is bound by the daunting conditions for marriage set by his late father. After many mishaps, Victor meets 'the Doctor', who comes with his own conditions. The mighty billionaire and the humble doctor must work through their differences in their search for love and happiness together.

Though the script retains the wit and complexity of Shaw’s original dialogue, Gehan’s reworking of it brings the play into a contemporary setting depicting the underrepresented concept of chaste and asexual relationships, featuring primarily gay and asexual characters.

At a media briefing held this week, it was announced that ‘The Billionaire’ has officially been submitted for both the Oscars and Golden Globe Awards nominations. The film is now on the Academy Screening Room, which is the Oscar voting members official streaming platform, under the ‘Best Picture’ category (and all accompanying categories such as ‘Best Actor’ and ‘Best Adapted Screenplay’).

Among the categories that the film is eligible for at the Golden Globe Awards are ‘Best Motion Picture’ – Musical or Comedy,’ Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture’ and ‘Best Screenplay – Motion Picture.’

The film was previously awarded the Best Comedy Feature Award at the Burbank International Film Festival in September 2020.

Speaking at the media briefing, Gehan credited playwright Indu Dharmasena for casting him in many of his productions, and for the inspiration to follow his passion for acting. Gehan also performed an aria that was featured in the film, and credits Menaka De Fonseka Sahabandu for the introduction to opera, and for cultivating his voice and singing temperament. Gehan made his Carnegie Hall debut in October 2019.

An alumnus of the University of Southern California, a leading film school, his studies made him realise he could easily transfer his knowledge of drama to the big screen.

He was further inspired to start his career in filmmaking by meeting American actor and director Jon Favreau, and credits his mother Shiromal Cooray with the inspiration to do his first feature-length film. Gehan also thanked filmmaker Chandran Rutnam and playwright Jith Pieris for their advice and guidance while editing his film.

Guest speakers at the briefing included Indu Dharmasena, who reflected on the many plays he directed that Gehan has been a part of, from hero to villain and everything in between, and praised Gehan’s parents for standing behind him through everything. “That’s the kind of parents who I, as a theatre person who does drama, love to encounter. When he wanted to do the film, he never gave up. I’m proud of him and for me what he did in a way is an award to me as well.”

Mano Chanmugam shared his memories of Gehan’s singing career, and the impact he has on everyone who hears him sing, while Chandran Rutnam reflected on Gehan’s enthusiasm and willingness to learn and take criticism positively throughout the editing process for the film.

Speaking on his win at the Burbank International Film Festival, Chandran notes that he was “happily surprised that he won this award, and we all should be proud of it knowing that he has brought such pride and honour to Sri Lanka.”

Finally, Gehan announced that the film will have a theatrical release in cinemas under Ceylon Theatres in the near future.

(Pix by Indika Handuwala)