MUMBAI: The Slumdog Millionaire actor Dev Patel has been finalised to star with Nicole Kidman in the new The Weinstein Company drama Lion.

The drama, based on the memoir ‘A Long Way Home’ by Saroo Brierley, follows a street kid from Calcutta (Patel) who is taken in and adopted by a couple in Australia.

Garth Davis, who co-directed the Golden Globe-winning miniseries ‘Top of the Lake’ with Jane Campion, is set to helm the movie while Luke Davies, the screenwriter on Anton Corbijn’s upcoming Life, adapted the book for the screen.

In addition to Lion, Patel plays self-taught Indian math genius Srinivasa Ramanujan in Matt Brown’s period drama The Man Who Knew Infinity. He will also star in Lionsgate’s Soviet-era thriller Child 44 and The Road Within, a remake of the hit German dramedy Vincent Wants to Sea.

Patel also appears in John Madden’s upcoming The Second Best Marigold Hotel, the sequel to the 2011 hit, which Fox Searchlight will release in the US next year.

It was earlier believed that Hugh Jackman would also star in the film, but as per media reports, the actor has denied any connection to the project.