All of eight years, the extremely shy and reticent Sunny Pawar talks about his shoot for ‘Lion’ and shares some anecdotes with Sugandha Indulkar…
Q How did you land this role?
I was shortlisted because of my acting skills. The movie team had come to our school and all of us had auditioned for the role. I was asked to look gloomy and run fast with a sad expression. I did as I was told. I enjoyed the process. Thereafter, I got selected and we shot in Australia, with Nicole (Kidman) Ma’am.
Q Had you heard of Nicole Kidman before? Were you intimidated about acting with her?
Well, I heard of her only later, when the directors and the filmmaking team told me about her. She is a big star. She was good to me. She spoke softly, and we did what was expected of us in the film. She plays my mom – I was quite thrilled with this idea. It was great to share screen space with her. When the shoot started I was five years old – so I didn’t know much of what was happening. I barely had any dialogues. I was told to provide facial expressions – I had to look sad, depressed and lost. I was following instructions to the dot. Since the film was shot in Australia and it was my first foreign trip, I was quite happy. My father accompanied me and, so, I felt at home. We shot for a month in Australia.
Q Who did you like the most from the team of actors?
It was fun to interact with Dev Patel. He played with me. We had a lot of fun on the sets. He was more like an older brother. I enjoyed his company the most. He is an excellent actor and a good friend.
Q Did you know that Dev Patel had played the lead role in the Oscar award-winning ‘Slumdog Millionnaire’?
No, before the shoot I didn’t know anything about him. During the shoot I heard about him. I used to observe his shots. It was great learning from him. Above all, we used to hang out together after shoots. We had a lot of fun. I found him to be very caring and fun to be with. When I saw ‘Slumdog Millionnaire’ during our shoot in Australia, I realised what a great actor he was. I was happy to get to know him as a friend.
Q What is the real Sunny like? Are there any similarities with Saroo, from the movie?
The only similarity between us is that we love our family a lot. Otherwise, I don’t think there is much of a similarity. I am more fun-loving. I like to study as well – I like maths. In school, I have a lot of friends. We play football and cricket. I like to listen to what people are saying around me. I can’t talk to strangers. My only friend on the set was Dev bhai. We used to talk a lot. I am not as emotional as Saroo. I like to look at the bright side of life and take life as it comes.
Q Do you recall any interesting anecdotes from your shoot?
A lot of scenes were shot in a train. During many scenes I was asked to run fast. I was often told to look depressed – after all, Saroo has been separated from his family at the age of five. I wanted to smile and jump and express my joy, because that is what I felt in Australia, especially in the company of great actors like Nicole ma’am and Dev bhai, but I was asked to look gloomy all the time. This was difficult for me. I just wore a sombre expression most of the time, with much difficulty.
An extraordinary tale
Five-year-old Saroo gets lost on a train which takes him thousands of miles across India, away from home and family. After which, he learns to survive alone in Kolkata, before ultimately being adopted by an Australian couple. Twenty five years later, armed with only a handful of memories, his unwavering determination, and a revolutionary technology known as Google Earth, Saroo sets out to find his lost family and finally return to his first home. Playing the role of child Saroo in the internationally acclaimed movie ‘Lion’ is Mumbai-based child artiste Sunny Pawar. Sharing screen presence with none other than Oscar award (2002) winning actress, Nicole Kidman, little Sunny, living in the humble outskirts of Mumbai goes a long way.