Lion: Saroo Brierley’s Memoir Makes A Sentimental And Heart-wrenching Movie

Posted: February 27, 2017

The recent Hollywood film Lion is based on Saroo Brierley’s memoir called A long Way Home. A movie that received Oscar nominations, it is definitely worth your time.

The film stars an ensemble of actors from both Bollywood and Hollywood. This is the story of Saroo, a young Indian boy who gets separated from his family in India. The film then traces Saroo’s journey from the crowded streets of Kolkata to his life in Australia and finally, his struggle to search for and meet his family in India.

Saroo is a young Indian boy, not more than 5 or 6 years of age, living happily, although in poverty with his mothers and siblings in a small village called Ganesh Talai. Saroo loves his family and is particularly attached to his brother Guddu. One day, Saroo accompanies his brother to work at night and happens to board the wrong train due to which he gets lost from his family.

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From here on, the film traces Saroo’s journey from the railway platforms of Kolkata to his numerous escapades which finally lead him to an orphanage. Saroo is adopted by an Australian couple played by David Wenham and Nicole Kidman. His new parents shower him with affection and Saroo restarts his life with them. Despite leading a blessed life, Saroo still lives under the mental trauma of separation from his family in India. Twenty years later, a grown up Saroo (played by Dev Patel) reunites with his family with the help of the Google Earth program.

All the lead actors in the film perform beautifully; however, a special mention must be made for the child star (Sunny Pawar) whose performance is nothing short of being brilliant. He singlehandedly holds the first half of the film on his shoulders, without the viewers missing the presence of Dev Patel. The scenes in which young Saroo is lost manage to evoke a sense of panic in the viewer and are brilliantly directed by Garth Davis. The second half of the film is a tad overstretched with repetitive scenes of Dev Patel falling into depression – the movie definitely needing more crisp editing there. However, the heart wrenching climax makes up for that and will surely move you to tears.

Lion as a film roars and takes cinema to new heights. This is a film about survival against all odds. If you happen to be the emotional sort, then you would be teary eyed for most of the movie. The film was nominated in 8 Oscar award categories (sadly, the child star Sunny Pawar seems to missed the nomination).

Nothing should stop you from catching this movie!