It’s hard to believe it was 8 years ago that Dev Patel came to Toronto as an unknown actor, starring in a small film that had very little buzz coming in. Slumdog Millionaire won the TIFF People’s Choice Award that year, and went on to win the Oscar for Best Picture. Flash forward to this year, and Dev Patel now has another one of the most buzzed about films at TIFF that has a very good shot at winning the People’s Choice Award. This year the film is called Lion, and Real Style was on the red carpet on Saturday, capturing the stars as they came in to introduce it.
Lion is a touching story about a five year old Indian boy who gets lost on the streets of Calcutta. His family can’t be found, and after surviving the ordeal, he’s adopted by an Australian couple and taken to their home. 25 years later the boy has become a man who is curious about where he came from, and sets out to find his lost family. As shocking as the plot sounds, the story is based on a true story. Nicole Kidman co-stars as his adoptive mom, while Rooney Mara stars as his supportive girlfriend. The film is drawing some comparisons to Slumdog Millionaire due to the plot being about a young Indian boy who fights his way out of poverty, but it’s not an entirely fair one considering the completely different story.
With audiences sobbing when the film ends, the buzz surrounding the film continues to grow. The People’s Choice Award winner will be announced on Sunday, with the winning film being screened immediately afterwards. Lion opens nationwide on November 25th.
