Dev Patel wins best supporting actor for ‘Lion’ at BAFTA

Indian-origin British actor Dev Patel won the BAFTA Award for the best supporting actor for his performance in ‘Lion’.  Dev was nominated with Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Nocturnal Animals), Jeff Bridges (Hell or High Water), Hugh Grant (Florence Foster Jenkins) and Mahershala Ali (Moonlight).

‘La La Land’ won the best film award. “Wow! that just happened. It’s just so overwhelming,” Patel said after accepting the trophy from Felicity Jones. Patel thanked his parents and his team, saying, “This is a film about family, about love that transcends borders, race, colour and anything. You guys are my driving force”, Dev said on his winning speech.

He got a resounding applaud as he mentioned Pawar, who plays the younger Saroo in the movie. “I’d like to thank little Sunny Pawar, who did this film with such confidence. He truly is a star. Garth Davis, an incredible director who is going to be a friend of mine for life and to my amazing team who had the insane task of trying to get this Indian dude with this noodle with wanky teeth and fluffy hair work in this really hard industry. To you guys, you are my heroes. I’m so grateful.”

Based on non-fiction book, A Long Way Home, ‘Lion’ is based on a true story about an Indian boy who lost his way and adopted by an Australian couple. Years later, he sets out to find his lost family. He uses Google map to find his biological mother in a remote village in India.‘Lion’ directed by Garth Davis also features Priyanka Bose, Nicole Kidman, Rooney Mara, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Nawazuddin Siddiqui. The Oscar awards will take place in Los Angeles on February 26th.