Lion: A Search for Roots
The Oscar nominated LION is definitely worth a watch, given its theme of search for identity and one's roots in a post-Google Earth global scenario. Set in India in the first half, the movie traces the journey of a 5 year old Saroo from his home town in Khandwa, to Calcutta, and later across the globe, to Tasmania in Australia.
The journey is both within and without, in the sense that the internal quest of the protagonist for a sense of belonging and roots merge with, and culminate in his external voyage halfway across the earth. Sheer grit and determination, coupled with a raw intensity of emotions and memories of his lost childhood, propel Saroo to launch a search for his estranged mother and family a good many years after he lands up in Australia.
True to the real story, the movie shows Saroo's struggle to blot out the memories of his life in India and attempts to settle down to a life of cushy comfort in his adopted country. His conflict is understandable; he feels his yearning for his past family would alienate his adopted mother and make her feel unloved, yet he cannot quell his growing longing to meet his birth mother. The emotional roller coaster ride that he goes through has been brilliantly depicted in the film.
Director Garth Davis does a fine job of portraying India in all its stark, impoverished beauty and earthiness, that time and again tug at Saroo's heartstrings, even as he has comfortably settled down in his well-heeled existence in Australia. The contrast of lives lived pre and post-adoption could not have been starker, and we salute the resilience and warmth of his Australian parents who welcomed him and another Indian boy into their lives with open hearts. An important sub-story is the depiction of the plight of orphans and castaways who remain on the edges of society surviving on crumbs of pity and charity from strangers.
Dev Patel aptly showcases the internal turmoil of Saroo, and his emotional scenes with the brilliant Nicole Kidman are the highlights of the movie. Priyanka Bose shines in a brief role of his mother, who loses two of her sons to the same night of despair, yet never loses hope. All the supporting actors are capable.
Finally, the movie is an appeal to the humanness and universality of people; we may be separated by territory and culture, but at the core, we are the same human beings yearning for belongingness.
The journey is both within and without, in the sense that the internal quest of the protagonist for a sense of belonging and roots merge with, and culminate in his external voyage halfway across the earth. Sheer grit and determination, coupled with a raw intensity of emotions and memories of his lost childhood, propel Saroo to launch a search for his estranged mother and family a good many years after he lands up in Australia.
True to the real story, the movie shows Saroo's struggle to blot out the memories of his life in India and attempts to settle down to a life of cushy comfort in his adopted country. His conflict is understandable; he feels his yearning for his past family would alienate his adopted mother and make her feel unloved, yet he cannot quell his growing longing to meet his birth mother. The emotional roller coaster ride that he goes through has been brilliantly depicted in the film.
Director Garth Davis does a fine job of portraying India in all its stark, impoverished beauty and earthiness, that time and again tug at Saroo's heartstrings, even as he has comfortably settled down in his well-heeled existence in Australia. The contrast of lives lived pre and post-adoption could not have been starker, and we salute the resilience and warmth of his Australian parents who welcomed him and another Indian boy into their lives with open hearts. An important sub-story is the depiction of the plight of orphans and castaways who remain on the edges of society surviving on crumbs of pity and charity from strangers.
Dev Patel aptly showcases the internal turmoil of Saroo, and his emotional scenes with the brilliant Nicole Kidman are the highlights of the movie. Priyanka Bose shines in a brief role of his mother, who loses two of her sons to the same night of despair, yet never loses hope. All the supporting actors are capable.
Finally, the movie is an appeal to the humanness and universality of people; we may be separated by territory and culture, but at the core, we are the same human beings yearning for belongingness.
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