ಋಎವೆವ್: Lion (2016)

Lion (2016)

It is very rare that non Indian film makers get it right when they make a movie set in India. The recent movie Lion is an exception. The movie tells the tale of our desire to search for our roots and identity. The first half tells the story of Saroo a five year old darling of a boy who lives with his mother and his siblings. He is very attached to his older brother Guddu. Once Saroo gets separated from his brother Guddu and starts looking for him. Scared and desperate he ends up getting inside a stationary train compartment and falls asleep on a seat. When he wakes up the train has moved far away from his town and eventually he ends up thousands of Kilometers away from home, in Kolkota. The little boy does not know anything other than the name of his hamlet - Ganesh Talai and not knowing Bengali he is unable to communicate with others there and is unable to get any help. After many encounters with other homeless children and adults including some with nefarious objectives he ends up in an orphanage. Soon he is adopted by a very noble minded Australian couple and grows up in Australia. In the later part of the movie we meet a twenty five year old Saroo who is still searching for his home in India and still yearns to meet his mother and brother. The rest of the movie is about Saroo's efforts to try and return to his original home.

The highlight of the movie is without doubt the lovely performance by the five year old Sunny Pawar. He is the embodiment of an innocent child and yet can convey so much of feelings and emotions and portrays the role of Saroo wonderfully. Dev Patel plays the older Saroo and is very effective. He was nominated for the best actor award at the Oscars. But Nicole Kidman as the mother who adopts Saroo, stands out with her dignified acting. The movie is very successful in capturing the Indian side of the story with authenticity and wonder.

The story comes across as unbelievable except that it is a true story. It is based on the novel "A Long way home" by Saroo Brierley the main character in the movie. Also I think this is the first time that an actor of India origin was nominated in the best actor category at the Oscars.

Lion is a very significant movie and it is worth watching.