Lion is the true story of an Indian boy adopted by Australian parents , who grew up to search for his long lost biological mother in India decades later .
He remembers calling himself as Saroo , and his brother as Guddu . Real mother's name he does not know , and he remembers her just as 'mother' .
He remembers stealing coal from freight trains for a living , for his mother was too poor to feed him and his brother . His brother was older , and they both used to climb the trains together . One day he insists going with his brother on a longer distance journey , and his brother leaves him asleep on the platform never to return . What happened to his brother ? It takes a quarter century for him to know the truth...
Meanwhile , what happens to him ? Not finding his brother , he takes a train going in the opposite direction of his home to the city of Calcutta . But he is saved from the worst horrors ; runs off when child traffickers try to kidnap him among other street children , runs away again when he feels he is going to be trafficked again by a seemingly kindly woman , and finally a person takes him to the police . They send him to a children's home which is not completely safe too , judging from what happens to another child there .
But he is selected to be adopted by an Australian couple , played by Nicole Kidman ( Sue ) and David Wenham ( John ) . These good people have their own quaint reasons for not having their own children and instead adopting them , which are later revealed in the film . But when Saroo grows up , he discovers he has not left the baggage of his Indian past ; wants to reach out to his origins . I watched his search unfold on screen , and it does fill you with real emotion .
Of course , the first half of the film ( which I have described in short above ) once more brought focus on the west's obsession with the poverty of India . It seems India has to carry the can for all the world's poverty . Africa may be poorer , but the country selected for showcasing poverty is India . Because it is politically incorrect to show african poverty for fear of being labelled racist . Pakistan and Bangladesh have similar poverty , but it is 'communal' to show them as poor because both of them have the same religion . China has poverty too , but it is a dictatorship which firmly closes it's door on foreign media to areas of it which are not worth showing . Only Indians do not mind being denigrated as poverty struck and the west takes full advantage of this attitude . Also , Saroo is everywhere in danger from human traffickers when separated from his brother . Presumably , Indians don't mind being demonised as traffickers too .
The above mentioned dark side of the film is counterbalanced by some great photography . Watch from long distance as only the lights of the train are on as it moves forward in the darkness , and watch an even better shot of the train silhouetted against the backdrop of lightening .
Emotions are of course the highlight of the film , and the film grows more emotional towards the end ; does manage to jerk a tear or two out of you at the climax---all the more because it is a true story . Acting by Sunny Pawar ( the young Saroo ) and Dev Patel ( the grown up Saroo ) and Nicole Kidman is simply great . Music is good too .
So why is the film named 'Lion' ? The reason is revealed in the end . But that is not the only reason why it is worth watching .
Verdict---Good .
Three and a half stars out of five .
He remembers calling himself as Saroo , and his brother as Guddu . Real mother's name he does not know , and he remembers her just as 'mother' .
He remembers stealing coal from freight trains for a living , for his mother was too poor to feed him and his brother . His brother was older , and they both used to climb the trains together . One day he insists going with his brother on a longer distance journey , and his brother leaves him asleep on the platform never to return . What happened to his brother ? It takes a quarter century for him to know the truth...
Meanwhile , what happens to him ? Not finding his brother , he takes a train going in the opposite direction of his home to the city of Calcutta . But he is saved from the worst horrors ; runs off when child traffickers try to kidnap him among other street children , runs away again when he feels he is going to be trafficked again by a seemingly kindly woman , and finally a person takes him to the police . They send him to a children's home which is not completely safe too , judging from what happens to another child there .
But he is selected to be adopted by an Australian couple , played by Nicole Kidman ( Sue ) and David Wenham ( John ) . These good people have their own quaint reasons for not having their own children and instead adopting them , which are later revealed in the film . But when Saroo grows up , he discovers he has not left the baggage of his Indian past ; wants to reach out to his origins . I watched his search unfold on screen , and it does fill you with real emotion .
Of course , the first half of the film ( which I have described in short above ) once more brought focus on the west's obsession with the poverty of India . It seems India has to carry the can for all the world's poverty . Africa may be poorer , but the country selected for showcasing poverty is India . Because it is politically incorrect to show african poverty for fear of being labelled racist . Pakistan and Bangladesh have similar poverty , but it is 'communal' to show them as poor because both of them have the same religion . China has poverty too , but it is a dictatorship which firmly closes it's door on foreign media to areas of it which are not worth showing . Only Indians do not mind being denigrated as poverty struck and the west takes full advantage of this attitude . Also , Saroo is everywhere in danger from human traffickers when separated from his brother . Presumably , Indians don't mind being demonised as traffickers too .
The above mentioned dark side of the film is counterbalanced by some great photography . Watch from long distance as only the lights of the train are on as it moves forward in the darkness , and watch an even better shot of the train silhouetted against the backdrop of lightening .
Emotions are of course the highlight of the film , and the film grows more emotional towards the end ; does manage to jerk a tear or two out of you at the climax---all the more because it is a true story . Acting by Sunny Pawar ( the young Saroo ) and Dev Patel ( the grown up Saroo ) and Nicole Kidman is simply great . Music is good too .
So why is the film named 'Lion' ? The reason is revealed in the end . But that is not the only reason why it is worth watching .
Verdict---Good .
Three and a half stars out of five .
