When five-year old Sarro (Sunny Pawar) accidentally boards a train, he travels from his hometown of Ganestaly, India, to Calcutta, 1,000 miles away. The train also takes him away from his family and his native language, Hindi, since he can’t speak the local dialect.
It’s 1986, and Sarro’s suddenly found surviving on his own. There’s only one universal word “mumi” and strangers offer to reunite him to his mother. But sadly, when it doesn’t happen, he’s adopted by an Aussie couple (Nicole Kidman and David Wenham.) To this point the film is simple and magical, at times reminiscent of Slumdog Millionaire. It’s a fine balance of grit and fairy tale of life as seen through the eyes of wonderment. Heck, this even stars Dev Patel as the grownup Sarro!
But when Sarro becomes a student at University, his story goes darker, slower, and becomes a completely different film. Sarro’s childhood memories haunt him in movie reel fragments. He distances himself from family, despite the support of his American girlfriend (Rooney Mara) who encourages him to find his identity.
Adapted from the book A LONG WAY HOME and based on a true story, Sarro is determined to find his long lost mother and siblings with the assistance of Google map. The irony is that in 1986 a child could easily get lost in a crowd, whereas today, he can find his way home on the other side of the continent, no problem.
But the film is lackluster. We crave to go deep inside the grown-up of what was once little Sarro, and instead find ourselves and the film flat-lining.
The parallel of Sarro’s poor life with his mother (Priyanka Bose) and his brother Guddu (Abhishek Bharate) versus his wealthy Australian parents with a house and boat, makes for an interesting hit-the-jackpot tale, but it’s the very ending that will have you wishing your brought the Kleenex. Be warned. And stay for the credits. They’re the best credits you’ll see in this lifetime. 2 ½