When Tali Mason watched the movie Lion, she saw her life story on screen

When Tali Mason sat in the movie theatre watching Lion for the first time, she was struck by how the first few months of her life were being brought to life on-screen.

The now-32-year-old and her older brother were adopted by white Australian parents from Nava Jeevan orphanage in Calcutta, India, the same one as the main character and the man the film is based on, Saroo Brierley.

It was only when Tali turned to see her father shedding tears beside her that it dawned on her how much her parents had given for them to be in this exact position.

"Dad was in tears. He never goes to movies, he hates going to movies, but he was even in tears and he doesn't cry that much," she recalled to nine.com.au.

"Just seeing how emotional Mum and Dad were [made her realise] there's never been a time where I've sat in my thoughts about my background and where I'm from.

"It was overwhelming, it sort of hit me all at once … my actual life story.

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Tali was adopted at the age of 15 months. Her older brother was adopted from the same orphanage three years beforehand – though the siblings are not biologically related.

Tali's birth mother had died, and her father was unable to care for her, leaving her in the care of the orphanage. 

Her first few months of life were spent in a "chaotic" environment with a number of other children in a home made of dirt and stone. 

Despite it all, she has many happy memories from her time in the first place she called home.

"I had my first birthday there, and there's a photo of me at the table at my first birthday, and I did get given a little book from the orphanage that they put together of other little memories," Tali recalled.

Just like in the film, she was looked after by Mrs Sood, the kind, bespectacled woman in a blue sari who prepared her, Saroo, and other children in the orphanage for their life overseas, teaching them skills such as how to use a knife and fork or salt and pepper shakers. 

Like all adoptees, Tali was presented with photos of her soon-to-be home – a quaint English Tudor house in the Melbourne suburb of Camberwell – as well as, of course, her parents.

"The minute Dad came to pick me up, apparently I pushed [a friend] out of the way because I knew that was Dad, my dad, coming to get me from the orphanage," she shared. 

The journey back wasn't easy, with the father and daughter held up at the airport over the authenticity of her adoption papers and even held at gunpoint – but eventually they made it home and became a family of four. 

Tali's childhood was of the typically idyllic Aussie variety. She went to school in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, and even did gymnastics after school.

But she always knew there was something different about her.

The fact she and her brother were adopted was obvious from the very beginning – they had a different skin colour and features from their parents, after all. 

As she grew, her parents explained the circumstances of their adoption – how they had married in their early 20s and tried everything to have children, even multiple failed rounds of IVF, before they decided to adopt. 

The process took at least six years, with multiple court appearances to plead their case before they were able to welcome their children in their 40s.

"That must have been a horrific situation to go through, just the two of them," said Tali.

"And then to be able to give another two children a life like we have … sometimes I just forget the magnitude of it."

As Tali and her brother got older, their parents fostered a connection to their home country and identity through trips back to India, and even back to the orphanage in Calcutta. 

Tali recalled her visit to Nava Jeevan at age six was "very emotional", with the children from the orphanage clinging to her.

"Looking back at photos, and me being stuck in the orphanage, I can see why [her parents] wanted to do what they did.

"I can see what Mum and Dad have done is, like, the best thing in the world.

"Out of all of this, I'm just grateful to be alive, to be honest… if I were still back in India, who knows? I might not be alive."

What helped the most with reconciling their experiences as Indian adoptees in Australia was fortnightly catch-ups with other families who underwent adoption. 

In her childhood, most weekends were spent at a new family's house as the adoption group got together to share their experiences.

It was here she came across Saroo Brierley and heard his story for the first time, long before it became the subject of an Oscar-nominated film.

Tali recalled him and his mother attending a gathering just before the film came out, and after their appearance on the news.

"My story is great, but his story is phenomenal!" she thought at the time

Over time, Tali felt she "blended in really well with the culture here", to the point where she often "forgets" she's adopted.

"I've been fortunate that I never really faced any racism or bullying growing up," she said.

Tali said of herself and her brother, "I think we were lucky that our parents raised us the way that they did, because we've both become, and we were back then too, really resilient and independent kids and adults, and learned to defend ourselves." 

Her unique experiences growing up with her heritage in a predominantly white community made her keenly aware of the disparity between people in Australia. 

It showed up often in her daily life, particularly when she tried to buy makeup that suited her skin tone.

She was often left trying to make do with the darkest shade of anything available at the chemist, which was often too light for her, left an orange cast, and was goopy in texture. 

Eventually, she and another friend from her adoption group thought 'enough's enough', deciding to launch their own makeup brand, All Shades Matter, with their parents' blessing.

"At first we were actually sort of worried what they might think with our background," Tali, who was already teaching full-time at a primary school at the time, explained.

"We didn't want them thinking that we were taking advantage of our story or anything like that.

"They were like, 'No, absolutely, that's a phenomenal idea. You've gone through it, and you've understood the experience and how difficult it was… It's not using the story, it's your actual experience.'"

They took the unique approach of starting with the darkest shades first in order to cater to a huge gap in the Australian market.

The pair were "flipping the beauty game on its head and doing the complete opposite and actually starting with the deeper shades first." 

People of all ages resonated with the message and were appreciative of the product, from Tali's year six students who wanted to wear their correct shade to graduation and formal, to people in their 70s saying they had been waiting for a product like theirs for so long.  

Despite facing some criticism due to people thinking they were selling their story, Tali maintains being able to "have an authentic and appreciative community [was] where it resonated so well… it wasn't just a money-making thing."

The brand released a number of foundation shades and had found success both overseas and on home soil, being stocked in Canada and in talks with Aussie retailers. 

They were gearing up to release blushes when Tali's partner stepped down from the business, leaving her to manage it on her own on top of her full-time teaching role. 

Eventually she too decided to step down after weighing up the costs of running the business over her rapidly building burnout.

But in the face of that heartbreak, she had her loving parents to turn to for support.

"I said to my parents as well, 'I don't want to feel like I'm failing and letting people down,'" she recalled. 

"They said, 'No, you've learned so much through this, you've learned how to run a business… People will understand where you're coming from.'

"I'm very grateful for them," said Tali, "I love them so, so much."