Lion starring British actor of Indian-origin Dev Patel, Deepti Naval, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Priyanka Bose and Nawazuddin Siddiqui along with Hollywood biggies like Nicole Kidman, Rooney Mara has bagged four Golden Globe nominations.
The four nominations are Best Motion Picture — Drama, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role, Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role and Best Original Score.
Shot in Kolkata and Australia, Lion, a drama film had its world premiere at Toronto International Film Festival. Directed by Garth Davis, Lion revolves around a five-year-old Indian boy who gets lost in Kolkata, thousands of kilometres from home. After facing many challenges, he is adopted by an Australian couple and 25 years later, he ventures out to find his lost family.
Lion is the third International film based on an Indian story that has won accolades on the international platform, with the previous being Slumdog Millionaire in 2009, and Life of Pi in 2012.
Life of Pi (2012)
The American survival drama directed by Ang Lee was based on Yann Martel’s 2001 novel of the same name. The film was full of Indian talent with Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan to Tabu and Adil Hussain. Life of Pi also starred international actors like Rafe Spall and Gerard Depardieu. The film revolved around an Indian man ‘Pi’ Patel, telling a novelist the story about his life, how he lost his family in a shipwreck at the age of 16 and was left stranded in the Pacific Ocean on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger.
The movie was appreciated for the special effects and performances, scoring two nominations at the Golden Globes (Best Motion Picture – Drama, Best Director) and one win for Best Original Score. At the 85th Academy Awards, it was nominated for eleven categories, including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay, and won four (the most for the event) including Best Director for Ang Lee.
Slumdog Millionaire
Termed as a sleeper hit, Slumdog Millionaire directed by Danny Boyle was set and filmed in India. The story of the film revolved around Jamal Malik, age 18 from the Juhu slums of Mumbai. As a contestant on the Indian version of ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?’, crosses every stage on the show successfully, but is accused of cheating. Jamal then recounts his history on how he answered each question. The film was nominated for ten Academy Awards in 2009, of which it won eight including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. It won seven BAFTA Awards including Best Film, five Critics' Choice Awards and four Golden Globes.