The film focusses on a young Indian boy, Saroo (Sunny Pawar) who along with his older brother Guddu (Abhishek Bharate) spend their days trying to earn money for their mother Kamla (Priyanka Bose).
After convincing Guddu to let him accompany him as he works overnight, five-year old Saroo is separated from his brother and ends up on a train going some 1600km away from his home town.
After trying to make himself understood and struggling to work out how to get home, Saroo ends up in an orphanage and is eventually adopted by Sue (Nicole Kidman) and John (David Wenham) and is taken to Tasmania in Australia to start a new life.
Fast forward twenty years and Saroo (Dev Patel) is about to embark on a new chapter in his life as he moves to Melbourne to study hotel management where he falls for Lucy (Rooney Mara).
Saroo begins to start questioning his identity and is haunted by the fact that he has such a privileged life in comparison with his biological family. Overwhelmed with thoughts of the family he left behind, Saroo strives to find out where he came from and how to get back there.
First of all, this is a wonderful film. All of the performances are fantastic, particularly both of the actors playing Saroo. The younger Saroo is just an absolute joy to watch, so engaging, endearing, charming and wonderful.
I was pleasantly surprised at the strength, depth and quality of Dev Patel’s performance, having only seen him in Slumdog Millionaire and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel previously, I was not expecting very much. But he was excellent and really portrayed the dilemma and struggle that this young man went through with aplomb.
This was definitely Nicole Kidman’s best film for a very long time and her portrayal of Sue was sympathetic and powerful and I was genuinely moved by her character’s motives for adoption.
Verdict: A beautifully shot and acted film about a truly beautiful uplifting, true story. A genuine Oscar contender and I would love to see it win big this year. Please go and see.
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