The movie was nominated in six Academy Awards categories, and it also won two BAFTA awards. The book is an account of Saroo's accidental separation from his family in India and his adoption by an Australian couple, and his eventual search for his biological family. Rooney Mara plays the role of Saroo's girlfriend Lucy. Get the latest entertainment news from India & around the world. Even more astonishing, Brierley’s journey would take him full circle: More than two decades after he was torn from his Indian family, Brierley would reunite with his birth mother following a painstaking search for a hometown he barely remembered, using Google Earth. When she was just a teen, the Tasmanian girl had a vision that she would adopt a child from India, instead of giving birth to her own. “The only thing you could do is just try and survive a day at a time.”. Tune in today to stay updated with all the latest news and headlines from the world of entertainment. Lion is based on a true story that is both incredibly uplifting and heartbreaking. Engineer Creates App To Translate Your Cat, Find out what your cat is trying to tell you with a new cat app, The Sweetest Photos of Princes Harry with Diana, Princess Diana died when Harry was just 12 years old, Sean Connery's Cause of Death Revealed Weeks After He Dies at Age 90. Saroo Brierley is an Indian-born Australian businessman, author and philanthropist who at the age of five was accidentally separated from his biological family. Dev Patel's 2016 biographical drama film Lion was a sensation when it was released. Saroo, the little boy Sue and her husband John adopted in the 80s', arrived. She said through the translator, ‘He’s your son now. Am I dreaming?” he wondered. Surrounded by townsfolk, she stepped forward, knowingly reached out, and touched her son. He subsisted by eating discarded food and drinking from faucets. Dubbed Cecil, the lion was well known to visitors to the park. A 5 yr old boy gets lost on the streets of Calcutta, thousands of kilometers from home. I give my son to you.’ We stood there for quite a while, just the three of us holding each other. “The earth seemed to be sort of moving,” Sue says of that moment. The book is an account of Saroo's accidental separation from his family in India and his adoption by an Australian couple, … “It was just a fantastic moment, filled with love and joy.” They handed him some chocolates, a book and a stuffed koala toy. There was only our breathing.”. The movie is directed by Garth Davis who made his feature film debut with this film. The movie lengthens his time on the streets to two months. The story of Sundiata Keita is behind “The Lion King.” Known as the Lion of Mali, Sundiata was the founder of the Malian Empire, the largest kingdom in West Africa. Know about this 2003 survival film, Is 'Antwone Fisher' a true story? One day in 1986, Brierley fell asleep inside an empty train stationed a few stops away from their hometown while waiting for his brother to fetch him. Now 35, Brierley, who lives in Hobart, Tasmania, with his adoptive parents, can still remember that pivotal day in his Indian hometown before his life was forever derailed — from its “dusty smell” to “the screeching of brakes, the people shouting and the pitter-patter of feet.”, Being unprooted to Calcutta, however, plunged him into chaos. “He was the teddy bear that I could hold on to when I was having my dreams of fear, zooming back to the scary times in Calcutta,” says Brierley, who hopes that his story will be a beacon to others. “For people who have been in similar situations, wandering and yearning to find their loved ones, their family or whatever it may be — I hope that this movie empowers them,” he offers. He was not an important pride male and at the advanced age for a lion of 13 — few male lions reach the age of 10 — had been forcibly evicted from his family pride inside the park and was superfluous to the game reserve’s lion population. Saroo’s the epitome of just a fiercely driven young man. The Lion movie true story reveals that a 5-year-old Saroo survived by himself on the streets of Calcutta for three weeks, until he was taken to a police station and eventually placed into a local orphanage. His story generated significant international media attention, especially in Australia and India. Bierley would spend several terrifying weeks surviving on the streets of Calcutta before eventually being placed in an orphanage and adopted by an Australian couple. Nicole Kidman and David Wenham as Sue and John Brierley, Saroo's adoptive parents. It is a joint production between Australia and the UK. He remembers crystal-clear.”, RELATED VIDEO: How Nicole Kidman’s Own Experience with Adoption Informed Her Performance in Lion. Brierley later named it Koala Dundee. A year later, Sue, accompanied by Brierley, traveled to Khandwa to meet the woman with whom she now shared a fateful bond. You'll get the latest updates on this topic in your browser notifications. Those close to him, for their part, are keeping a vow of their own. If you make a purchase using these links we may earn commission. A blended family – South African dad (Langley Kirkwood), French mom (Mélanie Laurent) and two kids (Ryan MacLennan plays Mia’s brother) – lives on a lion farm. Suddenly there was no noise. Apr 20, 2017. Hollywood took the story to the next level with the 1966 release of the film based on the book. It has received an average of 8 out of 10 stars based on over 200k reviews on IMDb. March 5, 2018, 8:07 PM Sean T Super Reviewer. Text us for exclusive photos and videos, royal news, and way more. Lion review – India's wandering star The true story of Saroo Brierley, lost as a child and reunited with his family 25 years later, is told in Garth Davis’s affecting feature debut Don't watch any trailers - go in blind. It is the adaptation of a non-fiction book named A Long Way Home written by Saroo Brierley. It was decided that Adamson and Africa might be the next destination for Christian. The book alleges a trophy hunter's team baited Cecil with an elephant carcass. “Was this reality? Products in this story are independently selected and featured editorially. For a while, Brierley was taken in by a local teenager and his family, before he was brought to authorities and processed at a precinct on May 22, 1987 — the day they designated as his birthday in official papers. The proverbial ‘king of the beasts,’ the lion has been one of the best-known wild animals since earliest times. Lion recounts Saroo's journey from a five-year-old boy who got adopted by a couple in Australia, to his reunion with his biological family over 20 years later. Lion is indeed based on a true story. But Brierley remained haunted by his turbulent, mysterious past. Starring real-life husband and wife Bill Travers and … (5,218) IMDb 8.0 1 h 58 min 2016 X-Ray PG-13. Now follow your favourite television celebs and telly updates. Brierley and his birth mother, Fatima, hugged tightly through tears. At one point, he fled from a gang who abducted street children. Twenty-five years after he was separated from his Indian family, Saroo Brierley found his way back home, and to the birth mother he left behind. Lion Real Estate Group focuses on acquisition of value-add and opportunistic multifamily and creative office properties by leveraging its principals’ experience in order to create value for its investors through renovation, repositioning, better management and optimum capitalization of its … “Saroo’s arrival was a kind of birth into our family,” Sue tells PEOPLE of first meeting their son at an airport in Tasmania. It is the adaptation of a non-fiction book named A Long Way Home written by Saroo Brierley. Know more about this drama movie. He was adopted by an Australian couple but was reunited with his biological mother 25 years later after finding his hometown via Google Earth. Lion falls victim to the biopic problem. Coyote Ugly Turns 20: Where Is the Cast Now? “It didn’t take us long to realize he had come from a good family,” John says, “with love around him.”. A big issue with based-on-true-story films, is the need for the films to accurately reflect the true story. Saroo was later adopted by an Australian couple and after 25 years, he began searching for his Indian family. Vladimir Putin calls PM Modi, assures ‘full support' in India's fight against COVID-19, CoWIN portal Chief details registration process for COVID vaccine as portal opens for 18+, Everything US' Dr Anthony Fauci said about India's Covaxin COVID-19 vaccine: A must-watch, EC makes negative COVID test or vaccine report must for candidates entering counting halls, Is 'Lion' movie based on a true story? The film was produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and distributed in the U.S. by United Artists and internationally by Columbia Pictures. Saroo's story had received wide attention in the media when it was first revealed to the public. “We met in Australia, and he is so generous. There, villagers took him to an elderly woman who looked back in shock. And was the inspiration behind the Oscar-nominated film Lion. It was the topography of a lost youth. They were actors who had been in the film Born Free, the true story of a lion cub named Elsa that was successfully rehabilitated into the wild in Africa by conservationist George Adamson and his wife Joy. https://people.com/movies/lion-movie-true-story-saroo-brierley “There’s no salvation at all,” he says. Every year, Saroo Brierley celebrates his birthday on May 22. Based on the true story of Saroo Brierley who, at the age of 5, was separated from his family in India as he fell asleep on a train and woke up 1600 kilometers away from home. The movie has received largely positive reviews from critics and audiences alike. Christian the Lion – Morningstar Productions (1972) This incredible true story took place in the 1970’s and was covered by the newspapers of the time, with the documentary film being made in 1971. His adoption by Sue and John Brierley provided salvation for the lost child. The story is straightforward. Surviving many challenges before being adopted by a couple in Australia, he sets out to find his family. By WHITNEY LLOYD. Indeed, Brierley holds on to things tightly: Nearly 30 years after he first arrived in Australia, he still has that stuffed koala toy that his parents gave him at the airport. If you would like to opt out of browser push notifications, please refer to the following instructions specific to your device and browser: this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines. Lion Real Estate Group is a real estate investment firm founded in 2007 by Jeff Weller and Mory Barak. “It was the most pivotal moment of my life,” he says. Read along and find out about this 1955 novel, Is 'Get Rich or Die Tryin' based on a true story? Republic World is your one-stop destination for trending Bollywood news. The LION Movie Adoption Story Recap: LION tells the true story of Saroo Brierley, a young man who was born in India and accidentally separated from his family at the mere age of five. The true story behind Lion Aussie mum Sue Brierley and her husband were thrilled to adopt two boys from India and start a family. Know all about the Dev Patel starrer, Is 'Open Water' based on true story? Deepti Naval, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, are seen in supporting roles in the film. Lion. He was out with his brother, Guddu, when he got lost at a train station just a few miles from his home. The Weinstein Company, a shrewd awards strategist, has marketed the film as a feelgood antidote to dark, turbulent times – the true story of a life lost … But fate twisted kindly for the aging lion. As a 5-year-old boy growing up in rural India, Brierley would often join his older brother as they scrounged for coins and food on trains to help their impoverished mother and siblings. Lion also went on to become one of the highest-grossing movies in Australia. The cast of the Lion movie includes Dev Patel as the adult Saroo Brierley. The Wind and the Lion … Cecil the Lion was baited before he was killed, new book alleges. Then it became the New York Times bestseller and #1 international bestseller A Long Way Home.Now it’s Lion, the major motion picture starring Dev Patel, Nicole Kidman, and Rooney Mara—nominated for six Academy Awards! Elsa's story played a large role in pushing lion conservation, and that of all wildlife, onto the international agenda. And he has an incredible memory, down to the eggs I ordered at that meal, the clothes I was wearing, everything. At the age of 19—the human equivalent of 75—and no longer of use to the Mexican circus that owned him, he faced a preemptive death. Get push notifications with news, features and more. Introducing ... PEOPLE's Products Worth the Hype, David Wenham, Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman star in LION © Long Way Home Productions 2015 Photo Credit: Courtesy The Weinstein Company. “Inside, I was jumping with joy.”, In February 2012, Brierley traveled to the central Indian city of Khandwa, fueled by the support of his adoptive parents. A train-station platform. Gray, with bulging eyes that pop out of their sockets, it’s kept in a bedroom at his parents’ house. Lion is indeed based on a true story. Sunny Pawar plays the role of young Saroo. Says Sue, “There was no way we were going to let him get lost again.”. Few male lions reach the age of 10. Over five years, he embarked on an “obsessive” search, tracing a spiderweb’s worth of train tracks, all spiraling out from the city now known as Kolkata. “If he wanted to explore that,” says Sue, “we wanted him to be fully happy about his identity.”. A ravine. But that wasn’t the day he was born. “I was crying for my mom and my brother and my sister.”. 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