Shantaram (in Production)

[Papa Jee]

Directed by Mira Nair
Produced by Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt
Written by Gregory David Roberts
Art Direction by Nitin Chandrakant Desai
Production Management by Ravi D. Mehta

Cast:
Johnny Depp
Amitabh Bachchan
Helena Bonham Carter
Emily Watson
Prabhu Deva
Irfan Khan

Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date(s) TBA 2008 (USA)
Language English, Marathi


Shantaram is an upcoming film based on the bestselling novel Shantaram written by Gregory David Roberts. It will star Johnny Depp in the lead and Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan in a supporting role.

Peter Weir was initially attached to direct and began pre-production before having creative differences with producer/star Johnny Depp on the adaptation. The film, to be directed by Mira Nair [1], is now shelved for an indefinite period in consequence of the writers' strike in Hollywood. The movie was to be co-produced by Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt.

Warner Bros. is expected to come out with a formal announcement about the shelving of the film sometime in the second week of December. A spokesperson for the office says, "Production on Shantaram is being postponed due to strike-related script issues and the inability to guarantee a February 2008 start, which would then place the production in India in an inclement weather corridor."

Shantaram is the story of Australian escaped convict, Gregory David Roberts nicknamed 'Lin' (as an abbreviation of a name that was on the passport he was using when he arrived in India). Sentenced to a harsh prison term after his personal life spirals out of control due to drug abuse, he escapes and, after a brief interlude in New Zealand, finds himself in Mumbai (Bombay). Befriended by a Bombay tourist guide named Prabaker, Lin ends up living in one of Bombay's many slums. He meets a girl Karla, who introduces him to a popular nightspot called "Leopolds", and he becomes a regular there. Lin immerses himself in the colourful life of Mumbai and his friends from the slum, battling fires, monsoons and in an attempt to make up for past transgressions he ultimately sets up a free medical clinic . He visits the native village of Prabaker, coming in contact with rural India. Eventually Bombay mafia chief Abdul Kaader Khan, takes Lin under his wing. In Lin's mind 'Kaaderbhai' takes on the role of the loving father that Lin never had as well as spiritual leader. Their association leads Lin from love to wretched prison life, freedom and finally gun running in Afghanistan. The realization of a betrayal by his loved ones ultimately leads him to inner salvation.