Oscars mentioned in reviews for Nicole Kidman movie put on the big screen thanks to northern beaches pair

A MOVIE which reached the big screen thanks to two northern beaches businessman is being hailed as an Oscar contender after its world premiere with Nicole Kidman, Rooney Mara and Dev Patel.

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A MOVIE which reached the big screen thanks to two northern beaches businessman is being hailed as an Oscar contender after its world premiere.

The Toronto International Film Festival was the location for the screening of Lion, out next year.

One reviewer said it could be a hit “with Oscar voters”.

As reported in the Manly Daily, Collaroy’s Andrew Fraser and Manly's Shahen Mekertichian, brokered the deal to get the story of Saroo Brierley into cinemas.

Rooney Mara, Dev Patel, Nicole Kidman and director Garth Davis on the red carpet for the premier of Lion at the Toronto International Film Festival. Picture: AP

He was sent to an orphanage after losing his family and was adopted by a Tasmanian couple.

But 20 years later he tracked down his Indian village using Google Maps.

They met Mr Brierley through Fraser’s agency, Sunstar Entertainment, and took their movie idea to Cannes, where it was picked up by film giant Harvey Weinstein.

He invested $12m and got and A-list actors Nicole Kidman, Rooney Mara and Dev Patel on board.

Saroo Brierley’s story has been brought to life on the screen thanks to two northern rivers businessmen.

They called the deal “a mixture of fate, luck and hard work”.

Mr Mekertichian, a father of two, said despite the strength of the story, it was tough for both men to stand their ground on several matters.

“We had a lot of production houses wanting to take the story but they all wanted to change it, saying things like ‘why can’t we have him adopted to a Baltimore family?

“But if we’d taken a weaker position Hollywood would eat you up and we didn’t jump at the first opportunity.”

Dev Patel plays Saroo Brierley in the film Lion.

Mr Brierley was only five when he became lost.

Poverty-stricken, he and his brother would travel into the city from home to beg on train carriages but one day they were separated and he was unable to find his way home.

Two northern beaches locals, Andrew Fraser and Shahen Mekertichian, got the film made.

Eventually he ended up being declared a lost child and sent to an orphanage. Sadly, a misunderstanding meant his mother was told he’d been killed.

After growing up in Tasmania, Mr Brierley turned to Google maps to search along the railway routes to try to find his village, using vague memories from his childhood.

When he found what he thought was the village, he contacted locals on Facebook before eventually going back to India and tracking down his mother.

Saroo Brierley with his adoptive parents John and Sue.

Saroo with his biological mother Kamla and sibling Sahkila back home in India.

He then penned a book about his life — A Long Way From Home — which was picked up by American magazine Vanity Fair and spread around the world.

Mr Fraser got involved when he met Mr Brierley’s adopted family in Tasmania, while there with his client, round-the-world sailor, Jessica Watson.

He’s also making her book, True Spirit into a major Hollywood film. He’s having meetings in New York about that project after visiting Toronto.

Nicole Kidman and David Wenham with Saroo and family in Tasmania.

Dev Patel and Rooney Mara react to a question during the press conference fo Lion Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto. Picture: AFP