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The Slumdog Millionaire star has been nominated in the Best Supporting Actor category for his turn as Saroo Brierley in the critically acclaimed Lion.
The film has earned three other Golden Globe nominations, including one for Nicole Kidman.
Lion, which has generated a strong awards buzz since it premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, has just earned Dev Patel a Golden Globe nomination. The Indian-origin actor has been nominated in the best supporting actor category for his portrayal of Saroo Brierley.
Lion is adapted from Brierley's memoir, A Long Way Home, in which he tells the story of how he was separated from his family at train station in Kolkata, being adopted by an Australian couple, his quest to understand his past and how he found his village and birth mother in India using Google Earth.
Lion was the runner-up for the People's Choice Award at TIFF this year, and Rediff.com contributor and veteran film journalist Aseem Chhabra had then written, "Lion is a real tearjerker while also a bit of a plodding film. Its script… could have been tighter. Despite flaws, Lion is an acting showcase for Patel, who gives his best performance to date.
"Eight years after Slumdog Millionaire, Patel has been trying hard to work as an actor and getting the accent right for the Indian characters he plays. There is already talk about his first Oscar nomination, in the supporting actor category."
This is Patel's first Golden Globes nomination, and he will be pitted against Mahershala Ali (Moonlight), Jeff Bridges (Hell Or High Water), Simon Helberg (Florence Foster Jenkins) and Aaron Taylor Johnson (Nocturnal Animals).
The Garth Davis-directed drama stars Nicole Kidman as his Australian mother, Priyanka Bose as his birth mother and Rooney Mara as his girlfriend. Lion also stars Indian actors Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Deepti Naval, and introduces Sunny Pawar as the young Saroo.
Apart from Patel's nomination, Lion earned three more nods -- Best Supporting Actress for Nicole Kidman, Best Original Score for Dustin O'Halloran and Hauschka, and Best Picture (Drama).
The Golden Globes winners are chosen by more than 90 journalists in the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. The winners will be announced on January 8.