What is the film Lion about?
Lion is a 2016 film based on the true story of Saroo Brierley, who was separated from his family in India as a child, adopted by an Australian couple in Tasmania and, years later, found his home using Google Earth.
At about five years old, Saroo fell asleep on a train and ended up in Kolkata, about 1,600 kilometres from home. He survived on the streets before being placed in an orphanage and adopted by Sue and John Brierley of Hobart.
As an adult, Saroo used satellite images to search for the train station and town he remembered. In 2012 he found his hometown, Khandwa, and was reunited with his birth mother.
The film
Lion was directed by Garth Davis and starred Dev Patel as adult Saroo, Nicole Kidman as Sue Brierley and Sunny Pawar as young Saroo.
It received six Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, and Patel and Kidman were nominated for their supporting roles. Much of the film was shot in India and in Tasmania, where Saroo grew up.
It was based on Saroo's 2013 memoir, A Long Way Home. His story drew worldwide attention to the many children who go missing in India each year, and Saroo has since worked with charities supporting children.
Did You Know?
Saroo had mispronounced his own name; he discovered his birth name was Sheru, meaning lion.