Lion

An Indian boy named Saroo, five years old, gets lost amid the crowded streets of Calcutta and ends up thousands of kilometers from home. He survives on the margins of city life and is eventually adopted by an Australian couple who give him a new life in Tasmania. As he grows, he carries fragments of a past he can barely grasp while building a stable, loving future abroad. When a spark of memory and a late chance to search arises, he embarks on a painstaking quest to locate his home, using stories, records, and later digital maps to guide him. The film follows his quiet struggle to reconcile a vanished childhood with the life he built overseas and time itself.

Directed by Garth Davis and released in 2016, Lion adapts Saroo Brierley's memoir A Long Way Home with a screenplay by Luke Davies. The film stars Dev Patel as Saroo and Rooney Mara as Lucy, with Nicole Kidman also prominent.

With a modest budget of 12 million, Lion grossed roughly 140.3 million worldwide, marking it as a successful drama that connected with a broad audience and earned praise for its performances and direction. That appeal crossed borders and generations.

Lion resonated beyond awards season by sparking conversations about memory and belonging in families formed across borders. It drew attention to the emotional costs of displacement and the redemption power of reunion stories, inviting viewers to reflect on heritage, motherhood, and the long reach of love and inspired broader discussions.

Critics praised the film for restrained storytelling, intimate performances and its handling of difficult topics with sensitivity. The central themes include memory and identity, the meaning of home, and the ways families grow when bonds are tested by distance and time. Its tone remains restrained, balancing heartbreak with resilience today.