Priyanka Bose reveals why 'Lion' was so important for her

Actress Priyanka Bose, who plays Kamla Munshi, the biological mother to Dev Patel's character Saroo Brierley in "Lion", said she has been waiting for a project like this for a long time.

The Indian-born star said that getting a role in the Garth Davis-directed movie was a dream come true for her, reported Femalefirst.

"There is a dark hole sometimes because I have this hyper ambition about the type of artist or actor I want to be, and you know, in India, I'm not valued that much for this intensity. There are different ways of thinking and casting in Bollywood, and I'm not the prototype who has been say, a model turned wannabe actor - a beauty queen who's come into acting.
 

"I sometimes I feel very left out because I'm just different in my sensibilities... But I keep beating the same drum saying, listen, look at me now, I am here to offer 110 per cent. So when a project like 'Lion' comes up I'm like, 'Okay, I've been waiting to exhale for all this time'," Bose said.

Priyanka also talked about how they achieved a particularly heart-wrenching scene when Saroo (Patel) finds himself reunited with his mother.

"That scene was their reunion after an entire lifetime. Garth, Dev and I workshopped a lot prior, and Dev and I got to know each other very intimately, in a very beautiful way. Then Garth made sure we didn't see each other for about four days.

"And that caused so much detachment anxiety - I had no idea I was going to go through that! Both Dev and I were in the same boat, but we went with it and then we finally saw each other on set. He was looking for me in the crowd, and I was looking for him, and then we saw each other, and it was quite gorgeous," she said.

"Lion", also stars Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman, 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 gets adopted by an Australian family but eventually tracks down his lost family in India via Google maps years later.

Patel is already nominated in the best supporting actor category at the 2017 Oscars for his role of Saroo.