Lion actor Sunny Pawar chosen as Rising Star at 7th Annual Asian Awards

London: Child actor Sunny Pawar, best known for his performance in the Oscar-nominated film Lion, has been chosen for the Rising Star Award here. The award will be presented to Sunny at the 7th Annual Asian Awards on Friday, the organisers announced today.

Sunny, who grew up in the Mumbai slums, shot to global fame with his role in the Australian drama where he worked alongside award-winning actors Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman. He was cast as young Saroo Brierley in the true life drama.

Sunny’s performance was praised by Hollywood celebrities like Viola Davis, Andrew Garfield, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, and late night talk-show host, Jimmy Kimmel, who re-enacted a scene from The Lion King with the child star at the 89th Academy Awards.

Sunny’s upcoming film Love Sonia is set to release in 2017 and features Demi Moore and Freida Pinto.

“The Asian Awards prides itself on honouring people who have achieved the highest levels in their craft. We have been waiting for someone to come along whose debut fits that description in order to justify creating the Rising Star Award. Finally, we have found that achievement in Sunny Pawar,” said Paul Sagoo, Founder of The Asian Awards.

Sagoo said what Sunny has achieved in such a short time is remarkable. “It is a travesty that other award ceremonies overlooked his performance in the film Lion and we want to correct that.”

Founded in 2010, the Asian Awards acknowledge pan-Asian success across all walks of life. Previous award winners include Shah Rukh Khan, Bruce Lee, Zayn Malik, Jack Ma, Dr Amar Bose, David Tang, Freddie Mercury, Kunal Nayyar and Ahmed Kathrada.