As his latest release Chippa drops online, Lion discovery Sunny Pawar discusses juggling thriving film career and studies
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; June 12, 2020)

The most striking memory we have of Sunny Pawar is his endearing recreation of the Lion King scene at the 2017 Academy Awards with host Jimmy Kimmel. The child actor, now 11, is grabbing eyeballs again with his performance in Chippa, which dropped on Netflix.

"The best part about Lion [2016] and Chippa was that I could travel to the international film festivals and meet renowned celebrities. Shooting for Chippa in Kolkata was a novel experience, even though it was my second time in the city. It is pulsating with tradition and rich culture," marvels Pawar, who gorged on Kolkata's famous street food.

Pawar's life has witnessed a turnaround post the Oscar-nominated film. With his father who doubles up as his manager, he sifts through the offers carefully, and has so far been part of Sacred Games, the Marathi film Aa Bb Kk and the short film, To Remember Me By. Even though he considers himself "blessed" to have got such exposure at an early age, juggling films and school is not easy. "Most shoots were scheduled during my vacations. On the rare occasion that I would be required to shoot during the semester, the director used to provide a letter to the school for permission. My friends used to send the notes over WhatsApp. When I would resume school, I used to work doubly hard to catch up on my studies."

Four years since Lion, he rues that he has lost touch with co-stars Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman. "Dev and Nicole were nice to me during every interaction. After Lion, I haven't been able to connect with them regularly. I look forward to working with them again in the near future."

'Overwhelmed' Poorna Jagannathan on standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Nicole Kidman and Meryl Streep in the second season of Big Little Lies
Letty Mariam Abraham (MID-DAY; July 23, 2019)

Standing tall at 5 feet 7 inches, Poorna Jagannathan greets me with a sunny smile when I catch up with the actor, who has suddenly become the talk of the town. Reason ­— Jagannathan can be seen rubbing shoulders with Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman in the second season of the highly acclaimed Big Little Lies. In an exclusive chat with mid-day, she talks about playing a lawyer on the Star World show and how lack of interesting offers in Bollywood left her West-bound.

Edited excerpts from the interview:

How did you land the role?
In the West, when it is a high-profile show, they change the material for the audition. At the audition, I didn't know what the show was or who I was working with. All I was told was that she [her character] practises family law and will be fighting a custody case. To prep for the role, I went down to the family court in LA and saw how lawyers interact with their clients and tried to assess their personality. I used to think lawyers are 'out for blood'. But family lawyers are sweet and nurturing.

What was your reaction on learning that you will work alongside Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon?
It was overwhelming. I learned much later that I would be acting with Meryl Streep. When you win a lottery, you are not only happy; the feeling is that of shitting in your pants. It was too much of good news [laughs].

How was it to share screen space with Kidman?
Day One was so scary, I couldn't sleep all night. I usually don't sleep the night before, but in this case, I couldn't sleep well for three weeks. Nicole is a private person and we got to know each other better over the course of the filming. My first scene with her was where I [nudge her] to accept the settlement. Nicole maintained [the commitment to her character] throughout the shoot. While I can hold on to emotions and the circumstances of the script for a long time, I can't be in that space for months. But Nicole did that with such ease. It's not because she is a commendable actor but because she had become the character. I have not seen such investment in a character, from a performer, before.

You had written a play, Nirbhaya, that dealt with sexual abuse. What new did you learn about the subject from Big Little Lies?
I was torn by the sexual violence mixed with love. In season two, you learn that Celeste [Kidman's character] doesn't have a family, and he [Perry, husband] picks up on that. That's how he is a predator and she is the prey. She doesn't have a reason to stay with him, but still, she does. It is complicated. People question why she stayed with him for so long. But the inner working of marital rape is scary. I am well-versed in sexual violence, but marital rape is much more nuanced. It is not even considered rape [in India].

Why don't we see more of you in Hindi films?
I stepped away from Bollywood. I am attracted to different kinds of stories and I was not getting those at the time. Now with [the advent of] Netflix and Amazon Prime, we have series like Delhi Crime that resonates with me.

Lion director Garth Davis on Oscar pressure, desi love and rumours of link-up with Nicole
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; February 3, 2017)

It was a coincidence that Australian filmmaker Garth Davis found inspiration to make Lion from a newspaper article. It brought him to India, a country, he says, “feels like home”. “I wish I could be more of a tourist, but I have explored India like a local. Of course, the story of Lion connected me with the place, but prior to that too, I was connected to Indian literature,” Garth Davis tells hitlist.

The director of the Oscar-nominated film, Lion, which tells the story of an Indian orphan, is currently in Mumbai to promote the project. He says, “Arundhati Roy’s God Of Small Things is my favourite novel. Once I land in India, I feel a sense of kinship.”

The filmmaker, who has struck gold with his maiden feature, says that a newspaper article about Saroo Brierley (Indian-born Australian businessman, who was separated from his birth mother and adopted by an Australian couple) finding his mother two decades after separation was his inspiration. “The story was magical. It traversed two different worlds. Its matriarchal quality was the foremost reason we made the film.”

Dev Patel (Saroo), who is nominated for Best Actor, had told hitlist last week that he barged into Garth’s office to audition for Lion. “I never thought he could be Saroo. I just saw him share the passion for the story.” But, some say, what added value to Lion was casting Nicole Kidman. “When I was spending time with Saroo’s foster mother, Sue, I couldn’t think of anyone better than Nicole. She understood Sue with such depth,” he says.

Nicole is also someone Davis has been linked with. Reports suggest her husband (Keith Urban) is upset with the filmmaker. Davis slams gossip, saying, “It’s stupid that when we were shooting, tabloids wrote about Nicole being pregnant. I’d meet her on set and wonder, where’s the bump? There isn’t an ounce of truth.
It was upsetting because my children had a talk with me about the reports.”

With Oscar nominations in six categories, is Garth nervous? “I don’t let pressure get to me. I take pride in the film we’ve made. Now it’s in the lap of the Gods to decide what it deserves. When we didn’t win at the Golden Globes, there was a little disappointment. Awards make you too concerned about winning and losing. At the Oscars, the odds are against us. If we win, I’ll be surprised.”

Top Indian-origin star Dev Patel ready to brave new American Presidency, says there’s ‘undeniable numbness’ in the air
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; January 9, 2017)

A decade ago, he shot to fame as the scrawny teenager in the Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire. “I came from nowhere and pretty much made it on my own. I wasn’t the finest actor then — many would even label me terrible. I didn’t have the privilege of going to a big drama school. But I have been very lucky, although it is immense hard work which has kept luck from running out,” he says, speaking over the phone from LA. Dev, who has been nominated in the Best Supporting Actor category for Lion at the Golden Globes (to take place today), says he was familiar with the film’s plot and was determined to get the role. It chronicles the real-life journey of a young boy who loses his way home, gets adopted by an Australian couple and finds his birth parents 20 years later with the aid of technology.

“When I heard they were making a film on that story, I knew I had to be in it. A staggering number of children go missing every year in India and though, this is a story about one of the lucky ones, I knew this was a life changing role. I can safely say Lion changed my life,” he adds.

Shooting the first scene was the most challenging bit. “It was the climax where the boy reunites with his mother. It was exhausting. Later, with Nicole (Kidman, co-star) around, it got better. She herself has adopted children and was able to bring in more authenticity to the intimate performance space we shared. I was nervous when we started off, but she is such a magnetic actor that the tense vibe normalized early on.”

Being an Indian in Trump’s America is perceived tricky and when we ask Dev, he plays it safe by saying he feels empowered as a human being. “But at the same time, I am extremely curious about the time to come. I am lucky because I had the opportunity to grow up in London, which has played a key part in shaping my outlook. I have always felt connected to India, thanks to my parents and grandparents. Then I had the good fortune of shooting my films there, especially Lion. There is an undeniable numbness in the air (in US) and at such a time, the theme of this film — love — will put out an important message,” he says.


Dev Patel with Lion co-stars Nicole Kidman and Sunny Pawar at an awards show

MUMBAI MIRROR (January 2, 2017)

Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman who played Dev Patel's adoptive mother in Lion, says she could really relate to him as a maternal figure on the film's sets. “I would go up to him and stroke his hair and touch his face and hold his hand. He gave permission for that, which was terrific,“ she gushed, adding, “I also think now you'll see Dev as a leading man, not as an Indian man or anything other than a leading man. I look forward to his journey into all of that now.“

The movie directed by Garth Davis is creating a major Oscar buzz, thanks to its successful run in the Hollywood award season. It is based on the true story of Saroo Brierley, a young Indian boy who gets separated from his brother and mother when he ends up 1,000 miles away from his home, lost at a train station in Kolkata. He is adopted by an Australian family but eventually tracks down his lost family in India via Google maps.

Patel is already nominated in the best supporting actor category at the Golden Globe Awards.

From coming out about being sexually abused as a child to being cast alongside Dev Patel, Nicole Kidman and Rooney Mara, actor Priyanka Bose is slowly but surely finding her niche
Kunal Guha (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 11, 2016)

By the time this piece goes to press, Priyanka Bose would have lived her dream — attending the red carpet premiere of her film Lion at the Toronto International Film Festival. Apart from Bose, the film stars Dev Patel, Rooney Mara and Nicole Kidman and is based on Sairoo Brierley's autobiographical book, A Long Way Home. The film traces the story of a five-year-old who got separated from his family in Madhya Pradesh and, following a series of events, lands up in Hobart, Tasmania, when adopted by an Australian couple. "Sabyasachi is dressing me and I am very excited as I haven't seen the film myself," says Bose, as she settles down at a Yari Road coffee shop that she frequents. In the film, Bose plays Kamla, a rural woman who endured much after one of her sons goes missing; her sense of loss was what Bose imbibed. To internalise her character, Bose went to Madhya Pradesh to meet the mother her character was based on. "My questions were basic and just by meeting her, I could tell how hard her life has been. I got down on my knees and hugged her and thanked her for her courage," she says, adding, "She's the hero of her village now but a lot of people hate her for that. In fact, many called her crazy for years as she never gave up hope that her son would return one day." The book, she shares, was "Sairoo's one-dimensional testimonial" but the screenplay was "made up of fragments of everyone's frequency". So Kamla doesn't figure in the screenplay and is seen through the eyes of the protagonist, played by Dev Patel. But the co-star who Bose was particularly star-struck on being associated with was Nicole Kidman. "When I learnt Nicole Kidman is in it, I was blown. She's just incredible and my favourite films include The Hours and Eyes Wide Shut. Once Garth Davis [the director] actually told me that 'You and Nicole have the same kind of spirit' and I was like 'He just used me and Nicole in the same sentence'. I couldn't believe it."

But this isn't her first film to go international. She also played the lead in Italo Spinelli's Gangor (2010). Based on Mahasweta Devi's short story, Choli Ke Peeche, Gangor toured film festivals across the world and even screened at the Rome International Festival. "Unfortunately, we didn't have the right producers, which is why it never theatrically released in India," she rues. But working on it, she recalls, was "a truly liberating experience". "My audition scene was intense — my character was narrating the events that led to her rape. The director pushed me to internalise the sensuality of a tribal woman," she says of the film which was shot in Bengal and underlines the violence prevalent in tribal areas.

Born in Kolkata and raised in Delhi, Bose is "Bengali by birth and Punjabi by spirit". "Ever since college, I did dance shows — jazz, contemporary, modern, Manipuri and Kathakali and took up amateur theatre after graduating." Her first tryst with professional theatre was in Sanjoy Roy's Yeh Hai Mumbai Meri Jaan which was selected for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. "It opened my eyes to the world. My parents wanted me to pick a profession which guaranteed a secure life. But I am very rebellious and wanted to explore."

A one-way Delhi-Mumbai ticket was secured and Bose was in tinsel town to put her skills to test. "I wanted to do the kind of cinema I had experienced while growing up. Actresses like Smita Patil and Rekha — who didn't fit the mold but were poetic." But maximum city was yet to deliver on Bose's dreams. "I took up odd jobs like being a back-up dancer on stage, auditioned for tele-marketing shows. I did the odd advert but it didn't interest me," says Bose, who got her first break as a bit role in Dibakar Banerjee's cult film Love Sex Aur Dhokha. "I played the bitchy editor in the third story. If I were to do the same part now, my process would be different and way more severe." But Bose's most acclaimed performance was in the testimonial theatrical Nirbhaya, which is pertinent to Bose for personal reasons. "Nirbhaya happened in a cathartic way. I was holidaying in Kerala when the rape happened in Delhi. I was shaken by the incident and felt that fragments of me were scattered everywhere. I couldn't connect with the city. For the first time in 25 years, I broke my silence about being sexually abused as a child in the play, which also had women who had suffered similar realities. It was revolutionary theatre and that's why you make theatre — to tell the stories that no one wants to tell."

About Lion, she's positive, but also a tad nervous. "If you do one thing really well, it's a trap," she says pointing at how Nirbhaya's success became detrimental to her career. "When you do something so strong, people get scared and I wasn't getting cast for the things I wanted to do following the play. I also have a side which is soft and sensual and I can still play the girl-next-door. But even she has her secrets and a dark side," she says, sharing her childhood dream of playing Govinda's girlfriend in a movie.

What also turned Bose off about many filmmakers was their approach to casting female characters. "If someone tells me, 'Yeh tere dialogues hai, aake bolo', it doesn't work for me. When I wear the character, I need to know how the director envisions it and my process is only going to take it forward. If my character brief is, 'hot and sexy hai' or 'angry ya whatever hai' it won't work for me." Bose is however happy that the film industry has broken out of the shackles of nepotism but feels that female filmmakers urgently need to up their game. "I want to do hyper-genre films. India is experiencing filmmakers like Pawan Kumar (of Lucia fame) and stories like Paranoia. I want women directors to write better for women. We still think of the ghisa-pita archaic stories when it comes to women-centric films."

It's a sixth outing for the Indian actress as her film Lion premieres at TIFF
Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 1, 2016)

Nawazuddin Siddiqui talks about playing a serial killer in his next and the effect it had on him
Chaya Unnikrishnan (DNA; April 30, 2016)


After playing Manjhi, you are doing another biopic. How difficult was it to play Raman Raghav?
Manjhi was an extraordinary story of an ordinary man. It was difficult getting into the mindset of a man who was breaking a mountain for 22 years in memory of his wife. But it was even more difficult to get inside the brain of Raman Raghav because he was not a normal man. He lived in a different world — his thoughts, his logic, his reasons for what he did were something a normal man can’t even think of.

What was your first thought when you were offered the role?
I thought it would be a very difficult character for me to play. That man had committed some 27-30 murders! I wondered what would have been the reason.

Did you read up on him?
Yes, I knew of him and had read about him earlier. But Anurag had already done a lot of research and I worked on his reference which was so authentic. He helped me with the role.

What is the intention behind making the film?
It’s a thriller and people will find it interesting to travel through the mindset of somebody who is not normal. They will know these kind of people also exist. That is Anurag’s speciality. He brings to screen personalities who have different thoughts and mindsets, but are human beings. We see a lot of clichéd films and characters, this will be unusual.

Did playing the character affect you in any way?
Yes, it affected me a lot. You are not like the person you are playing, but you have to believe in him. If you have to do justice to the character, you have to go through that mindset. Sometimes it becomes dangerous. At one point, during the shooting I was hospitalised. I had fever and fell unconscious. My wife tells me that when the doctors gave me an injection, I was muttering a scene. My wife called up Anurag and told him ‘Yeh film ki linein pad rahe hai’. I think if you take from the character, the character also takes something from you.

Did it take time for you to come out of the character after the shoot was over?
I try to purge the character from my mind once the shoot is over. I go on a holiday to my hometown or elsewhere. The purpose is to leave the character behind and make place for the next one that I will play. This role was not only difficult, but also more disturbing. I wanted to remove the character from my persona as soon as possible. I went out of town just to do normal things and lead a normal life!

What next?
I am doing an out-and-out-romantic film with Amy Jackson. The film is based on golf and I am playing a golfer. I have also shot a film with Amitabh Bachchan in which I play a priest. There’s Raees with Shah Rukh Khan which has me in the role of a cop.

Do you deliberately maintain a balance between commercial films and art cinema?
I don’t see whether a film is commercial or arty. I go by the script, if it’s good I do it.

Wasn’t Bajrangi Bhaijaan commercial and larger-than-life compared to Manjhi that was more realistic?
Manjhi’s plot was larger-than-life, it was about a man single-handedly breaking a mountain! It’s just impossible, who does that? As for Bajrangi Bhaijaan, the sensibility with which Kabir (Khan, director) made the film, I don’t think even the so-called realistic filmmakers could have done it like that.

Raman Raghav 2.0 will be premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. Does a festival screening help with the theatrical release?
As far as this film is concerned, I am confident it will be a hit. But yes, a festival screening has to benefit a film in the theatres, but it doesn’t happen in some cases, which is quite scary. There is this division that happens when a film is screened at the festival. Critics give it five stars, it gets awards too, but doesn’t run at the box-office. How can a film that is appreciated at the festival not run successfully here? It has to be liked by everybody, if not, something is lacking in the film.

Several films of yours have been screened there. You must be used to it.
Seven of my films have already been screened at Cannes and I have gone there twice. Still, I feel the same excitement as I felt when I went there for the first time.

You have done one Hollywood film Lion with Nicole Kidman. Any more in the pipeline?
Yes, I have done one film, but mera chota-mota role hai. To do films in Hollywood you need an agent. Hollywood filmmakers don’t offer you roles based on your skill, it’s the agents who get you roles there! Now-a-days a big issue is made when actors bag roles there. But our actors from the black-and-white era like IS Johar also have been doing roles in films there. Then there’s Amrish Puri who had a substantial role in a huge film like Indian Jones, even Gulshan Grover has done Hollywood cinema. Nobody talked about them, but now even if they do small roles, it becomes big news. The standard of films that we make in our country is no less than the ones made in Hollywood. I am proud of our cinema. I am doing films like The Lunchbox and Gangs of Wasseypur here. What is the need to go to Hollywood?

Subhash K Jha (DNA; January 23, 2015)


Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who has lately become an actor to reckon with, is now on a firangi hangover. Last week the papers were flooded with Nawaz’s PR overdrive claiming that he was being ‘paired opposite’ Nicole Kidman in Garth Davis’ Lion.

Some probing reveals a few very embarrassing facts about this sensational spot of casting (Kidman and Nawaz together do look like an unlikely jodi).

An insider reveals, “I don’t know why Nawaz created the impression that he’s paired opposite Nicole Kidman. Nawaz doesn’t have one shot with her. He is in the film for sure. But features in one episode, Nicole in another. They don’t come face-to-face in the film.”

Shedding further light on the project which begins shooting in Kolkata next week, the source reveals, “Lion is a true-life story based on Saroo Brierley’s autobiographical account of his search for his family. Saroo is played by Dev Patel throughout. The other actors including Nawazuddin, Tannishtha Chatterjee and Nicole Kidman play characters who meet Dev on his journey.”

Asira Tarannum (MID-DAY; February 6, 2014)

Grace Of Monaco, the film starring Nicole Kidman, which has been co- produced by Yash Raj Films, has been officially chosen to open the 67th Cannes Film Festival in May this year.

According to the official website of the Cannes Film Festival, the world preview of the film will take place on May 14 in the official selection category, Out of Competition.

Helmed by French filmmaker Olivier Dahan, the biopic is based on the life of American actress and Princess of Monaco, Grace Kelly. The film centres around her life after she married Prince Rainier III in 1956. It was shot for 16 weeks in Monaco, south of France, Paris, Vintimille, Gand and Bruxelles.