A Long Way Home

Struggling with language barriers and culture shock, Saroo checks into his hotel in Khandwa, makes his way to the suburb of Ganesh Talai, and finds his old house, which is abandoned, rundown, and smaller than he remembers. A neighbor asks if he needs assistance in Hindi. Saroo gives her his name and recites the names of his family members. Two men approach, one of whom speaks English. Saroo explains who he is and why he has come. The man takes one of Saroo’s childhood photos and asks him to wait. When he returns, he brings Saroo to another dilapidated house, where he comes face to face with his birth mother. An emotional Kamla says his name and invites him into her home. Saroo realizes he has been mispronouncing his name his entire life. Through a translator, Saroo tells Kamla about his long journey from Khandwa to Hobart 25 years earlier. Kamla expresses gratitude for Sue and John. Her words release Saroo from the guilt of leaving his birth family behind.

Saroo meets Kallu and Shekila, neither of whom speak English. He is devastated to learn that his brother Guddu was fatally hit by a train the night he got lost.