A film with a soul!

Rating: 9/10 (8 June 2017)

Lion Cast: Dev Patel, Nicole Kidman, Priyanka Bose, Sunny Pawar Lion is the true story of Saroo , a 5 year old kid living in Ganesh Thali a small neighborhood somewhere in Central India. It traces his journey from Ganesh Thali with his big brother Guddoo, his sister Shakila and their mother Kamala to a very different life in Australia with his adopted parents. In very unfortunate circumstances , he gets separated from his family in India and gets transported to a very different life in Australia with his adopted parents. He has seemingly forgotten his past but is reunited with his childhood memories when he accidentally sights a Jalebi . It is 2008 and Google has just released a new software called Google Earth and he sets about completing an impossible task of reuniting with his family. Dev Patel is brilliant as the 20 something Saroo who is haunted by his childhood memories. His eyes convery the anguish of a person who cannot let go of his past. He has played a similar role in 'Slumdog Millionaire' but this is a more memorable performance , aided by the script and the good work done by his co-stars. Nicole Kidman and Tanistha Chatterjee are ably cast in the role of his real and adopted mothers. The star of the film is without a doubt the child actor Sunny Pawar, the younger version of Saroo who conveys the joy in his simple life as well as the tragedy that he undergoes with equal elan. The film follows a tight script through out and concludes with some photographs and a vide from Saroo's actual life. Those real life clippings literally brought tears in my eyes. Also revealed in the end is the mystery behind the title of the film. All in all , a must watch and in my view one of the best English films with an Indian connection- miles ahead of the Oscar winner 'Slumdog Millionaire'.