Sunny Pawar to collect Rising Star honor at the Asian Awards

Child actor Sunny Pawar is set to be honored with the inaugural Rising Star Award at the Asian Awards on Friday (05May17).

The eight-year-old actor, who won over audiences with his feature film debut in Lion and subsequent appearances at awards shows, will travel to London to collect the award which "shines the spotlight on the next generation of talent" and celebrates up-and-coming Asian stars.

Paul Sagoo, Founder of The Asian Awards said they chose Sunny for the honor because they felt his achievements in Lion were overlooked during awards season.

“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," he said in a statement.

“What he has achieved in such a short space of time and without the resources afforded to many, is nothing short of remarkable. It is a travesty that other award ceremonies overlooked his performance in the film Lion and we want to correct that."

He added that he wanted to show the world that even those from humble beginnings and without much experience can still achieve greatness.

In the 2016 Oscar-nominated drama, Sunny starred as the young version of Dev Patel's character Saroo Brierley, who gets lost and subsequently separated from his family in India and is eventually adopted by an Australian family.

Sunny, who couldn't speak English and grew up in slums of Mumbai, was picked from more than 2,000 Indian school children for the part.

He will receive the award at the London Hilton hotel on Friday.