Working with true stories can be precarious, especially if they are as complex, intense and miraculous as that of Saroo Brierley’s life. In 1987, a five-year-old Indian boy was separated from his family after falling asleep on a train. The boy, Saroo, found himself in a radically different life in his adopted home in Australia. But even as 25 years passed, Brierley was unable to erase the traumatic flashes of his childhood memories, which eventually drew him back to his hometown.
Australian filmmaker Garth Davis was asked to read Brierley’s story by the producers of the mini-series Top of the Lake (2013), which he co-directed with Jane Campion, at the Sundance Film Festival in 2013. “I thought it was an unbelievable story,” says Davis. He decided to make his directorial debut in feature films with this extraordinary tale after the producers, See Saw films, secured the rights to the project.
Working backwards
Lion , which stars Dev Patel, Sunny Pawar, Nicole Kidman and Rooney Mara in the lead roles, has been shot extensively in India, retracing Brierley’s steps as a child and as an adult. “What’s great about true-life stories is that you have access to so much material,” says Davis. The Australian filmmaker spent time in Khandwa, Brierley’s hometown, speaking to the locals and imagining life there as a five-year-old. “When I do that sort of emotional work, it inspires ideas, shots and an understanding of the place.”
The locale and setting form an integral part of the filmmaker’s style, which can be seen abundantly in the long shots of landscape peppered through Lion . “I’m a big believer in land being a part of the essence of home and who we are,” says Davis. Through these shots, the filmmaker intends to remind the viewers of the expansiveness of our planet and the hidden struggle for geographical identity.
To stay true to the story, Davis filmed a large part of the movie in real locations, except in Ganesh Talai, where Brierley’s mother resides. “We didn’t want to bring unwanted attention to her.”
According to Davis, Lion is an immersive film that takes the viewer to parts of India which haven’t been shown on screen before. In his experience, filming in the hinterlands of India can be gruelling, especially while obtaining permissions. Shooting in popular locations presents its own set of hurdles, like recording sound amidst the everyday noise and keeping performances organic among a sea of onlookers. “But there are benefits too. There’s a rich humanity in people, texture and colour that you can’t get anywhere else.”
Strong actors
Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman have received Oscar nominations in the Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress category respectively for their performance in Lion . But Davis believes the film’s success rests heavily on the shoulders of young Sunny Pawar, who plays the five-year-old Brierley. Selected from 2,000 entries, eight-year-old Pawar was taken onboard when he was five. Communicating with a child who isn’t well-versed in English added to the challenge of working with a five-year-old. “If you make a film because it’s easy, it never works,” says the filmmaker, who refused to cast an older kid in the same role. According to Davis, Pawar was compelling, authentic and could convincingly usher the viewers into a real-life experience.
For Davis, passion is an indispensible criterion while hiring actors. “The challenge with Dev [Patel] was that up until this point, he had not done a movie that was so realistic, so I needed to see if he could get there.” He says Patel was desperate to prove that he could pull off a realistic performance and break away from the frustration of being typecast. “He wanted a role that dimensionalised (sic) him as a human being and an actor, and we met at the right time.”
After a four-hourlong workshop with Patel in London, Davis was confident of casting him as the lead. But to look and sound like a man raised in Australia, Patel had to put on weight and undergo eight months of coaching for the accent. “I had to spend time with him to realise that he was the best actor so far.”
The Oscars validation
With six nominations, including a Best Picture nod, Lion is one of the forerunners at the 89th Academy Awards. But the director of the film is reluctant to validate a movie by its performance at the Oscars. “Unfortunately, that’s how the world works. They love their labels,” says Davis. But he’s excited that the nominations will propel his film to newer markets. “It will be watched by more parents, children and orphans.”
Movies based on real-life stories seem to be a steady favourite with the Academy. Davis says finding the truth in these stories is imperative to obstruct it from snowballing into melodrama. “Melodrama comes from a manipulation of emotion. In Lion, the emotion comes from the truth.” Davis says he has tried to abstain from romanticising reality and explored dark as well as hopeful narratives of Brierley’s story. But he didn’t hesitate to take creative liberties.
“Otherwise it’s a documentary,” he asserts. For instance, the character of Lucy, played by Rooney Mara, is an amalgamation of three girlfriends who encouraged Brierley to reconnect with his birth mother.
Upcoming projects
Alongside promoting Lion , Davis is working on his next movie Mary Magdalene based on the Biblical character’s life, with Mara as the lead. “Her story is misrepresented and this is from her point of view. It’s time for her story to be told,” the filmmaker says. Drawing parallels between Magdalene and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai, Davis says the fight for women’s rights and education inspired him to make Lion , which aims to explore humanity beyond gender boundaries.
Movies revolving around religious themes are at a high risk of facing backlash, so is he ready for it? “Not prepared, but certainly expecting it,” laughs Davis. But for now, the focus firmly remains on Lion ’s Oscar prospects later this month.
