'Sheru' is a Hindi word meaning LION in English, this was the closing statement of the film which stayed with me a lot longer than it's running time. An euphoric feeling of finding something special mixed with an attachment to the characters and story, made me write about it. Even though the structure is that of a typical Hollywood narrative - context, conflict, climax, but the film is more about the emotional depths it touches in that structure. The film left three words in my mouth - 'Brilliant Fucking Acting'.
As exhilarating it was an experience of discovering one's identity, this film, for it's commercial viability, has been biased to portray a one-dimensional story. However, the director leaves a few cues here and there to instill curiosity in the mind of an active watcher for other characters as well. Nicole Kidman playing the role of Sue Brierley narrates a vision of hers in which She sees a brown kid (at the age of 12) guiding her when she is seemingly lost, escaping from her drunken father. Also, upon receiving the kids in Tasmania from the orphanage of India, Sue and John were seen happy, as if it was 'just like they imagined'. The expression was beautifully played by Nicole.
More than the journey of Saroo, this story is also the journey of Sue and John, unexplored in the film. Here, you can find a few pointers which can shed some light on someone who struggled to save one life.
Sue was quoted saying, "Millions of children had been displaced worldwide because of wars in their homelands, and some of those dislocated refugee children should be offered homes in Australia." A humanist in her approach, she has at least saved two lives which could have been exploited or succumbed too soon.
It could have been any child who was going to be saved. Every child would have their own equally interesting tale to tell. But not every child would solve the maze of hazy memories to trace back their past. There was something driving Saroo to look for his mother, his family, and the director has seductively placed the frames of her mother working. When she gratifies her Saroo on collecting the stones, when she is shown simply standing and Saroo uses one word to describe her 'beautiful'. This love affair was equally important to capture so that a true drive and obsession behind the search can be comprehended.
Saroo had a few relationships out of which only one is shown in the film and as per the screenwriter, all of them have been traumatic or didn't work out, mainly because Saroo was not opening up or being reserved. This could have also justified the instability of the character and an obsessive impulse to search for his own family, however, for the sake of simplicity, this was not part of the film.
There is another scene where the real mother of Saroo scolds Guddu , saying, "you don't care for your brother? how could you let him get hurt?" This hints at a unspoken tragedy which could have happened in reality. In reality, the day Saroo boarded another train and left the platform, Guddu was found dead in the track near the same platform. The tragedy could most possibly be that Guddu came back and looked for Saroo, on being hopeless on not finding him anywhere, he would have killed himself in the tracks. What would he say to his mother? he must have wondered. If this was purposefully done by the director, then I would thank the director of being so sensitive to the story and not highlighting what is not provable, but subtly hinting at a possibility.
The real mother of Saroo learned about Guddu's death 2 days later from the police. She contained her grief to look for her other son and used to pray everyday in Mosque for the safety and well being of her child. God answers in many ways.
And now the climax, the most beautiful climax I have seen in films in years. It is so uplifting without speaking any words, without a historic march across a bridge, without a social purpose, it was an individual self discovery joined by every on looker, including us. From the moment Dev visits their old house and is unable to speak Hindi, who then walks in the streets towards her mother who comes accompanied by others, is a moment I am going to preserve for years I think. That moment had it all. That moment made this film find a space here. And that moment made my watching the entire film meaningful. That moment made three words come out of my mouth for the extraordinary portrayal of the character by Dev Patel - Brilliant Fucking Acting!
- Read this after watching the film once -
More than the journey of Saroo, this story is also the journey of Sue and John, unexplored in the film. Here, you can find a few pointers which can shed some light on someone who struggled to save one life.
Sue was quoted saying, "Millions of children had been displaced worldwide because of wars in their homelands, and some of those dislocated refugee children should be offered homes in Australia." A humanist in her approach, she has at least saved two lives which could have been exploited or succumbed too soon.
It could have been any child who was going to be saved. Every child would have their own equally interesting tale to tell. But not every child would solve the maze of hazy memories to trace back their past. There was something driving Saroo to look for his mother, his family, and the director has seductively placed the frames of her mother working. When she gratifies her Saroo on collecting the stones, when she is shown simply standing and Saroo uses one word to describe her 'beautiful'. This love affair was equally important to capture so that a true drive and obsession behind the search can be comprehended.
Saroo had a few relationships out of which only one is shown in the film and as per the screenwriter, all of them have been traumatic or didn't work out, mainly because Saroo was not opening up or being reserved. This could have also justified the instability of the character and an obsessive impulse to search for his own family, however, for the sake of simplicity, this was not part of the film.
There is another scene where the real mother of Saroo scolds Guddu , saying, "you don't care for your brother? how could you let him get hurt?" This hints at a unspoken tragedy which could have happened in reality. In reality, the day Saroo boarded another train and left the platform, Guddu was found dead in the track near the same platform. The tragedy could most possibly be that Guddu came back and looked for Saroo, on being hopeless on not finding him anywhere, he would have killed himself in the tracks. What would he say to his mother? he must have wondered. If this was purposefully done by the director, then I would thank the director of being so sensitive to the story and not highlighting what is not provable, but subtly hinting at a possibility.
The real mother of Saroo learned about Guddu's death 2 days later from the police. She contained her grief to look for her other son and used to pray everyday in Mosque for the safety and well being of her child. God answers in many ways.
And now the climax, the most beautiful climax I have seen in films in years. It is so uplifting without speaking any words, without a historic march across a bridge, without a social purpose, it was an individual self discovery joined by every on looker, including us. From the moment Dev visits their old house and is unable to speak Hindi, who then walks in the streets towards her mother who comes accompanied by others, is a moment I am going to preserve for years I think. That moment had it all. That moment made this film find a space here. And that moment made my watching the entire film meaningful. That moment made three words come out of my mouth for the extraordinary portrayal of the character by Dev Patel - Brilliant Fucking Acting!
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