Lion(English) - Review

On paper, Lion is a story of an Indian kid lost in India, then adopted by an Australian couple and who after so many years comes back to find his mother and family. One can not sugar coat it or play around with commerciality since it is a real story. But for such stories, audience usually sit down to watch by convincing themselves that they want to like them because it is a true story. They force themselves to identify with the protagonist and feel his sorrow or pain and share his joy. 

Why I would call Lion a triumph is because it does all that for us without our own effort. You just play the movie and it sucks you right into Saroo's life. You traverse the dusty streets, busy market places and packed trains of "Ganeshtalay" with Saroo and then go through the shady slums of Calcutta before ending up in the gloomy house in Australia. 

All these places could have been shown differently but the director chooses to match them with the mood of Saroo at that time. Australia could have been shown as a brighter place or Calcutta a more jubilant place like in Kahaani and Ganeshtalay as a downtrodden slum. But for Saroo Ganeshtalay is his home and so it was shown in a happy mood. So happy that you as an audience wish him to go back to that place leaving the rich Australian life or as Saroo in one scene says "privileged" life. 

The flashes of his mom in his dreams and his brother looking at him from far places are brilliant depictions of emotion. The scene where his mom shouts at Saroo's brother saying Saroo is his responsibility is very well placed to emphasize that Saroo knows exactly that his brother would never be able to face his mom after losing his little brother. The scenes of orphanage had me hiding my face, holding my breath, resisting my tears and choking myself to not cry out loud. 

After this long analysis, I think I do not have to tell you how much I loved it. So pick it up today and watch it. It is a very touching tale.