SHANTARAM Starring Charlie Hunnam Premieres Today on Apple TV+

After talks of accumulation since 2004, an adaptation of the bestselling publication Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts is coming to Apple TV+ connected October 14. The adaptation stars Charlie Hunnam arsenic Lin, an Australian slope robber who escapes from situation and flees to India.

Shantaram is simply a communicative of duality — of transgression and altruism, execution and healing, and possibly adjacent a small redemption. Before helium makes his mode to India, Lin commits an equipped robbery to caregiver a heroin addiction. Equipped with a fake passport and hopeless to disappear, helium yet flees to Bombay, India (now Mumbai), wherever helium hopes to vanish into a benignant of anonymity. Instead, helium struggles to find himself portion moving a session successful 1 of the city’s astir disadvantaged areas, managing to get pulled deeper and deeper into Bombay’s acheronian underworld. He simultaneously fights to heal the sick arsenic helium becomes much progressive with murderers, gangsters, and the mafia. Readers travel Lin arsenic helium falls successful emotion with India portion trying to flooded a past that has rooted itself successful the present.

The caller Shantaram was based connected was published successful 2003 to large acclaim and was loosely based connected the author’s life. He, similar the novel’s narrator Lin, besides committed equipped robbery to proviso a heroin addiction and was known arsenic “the gathering nine bandit” successful Melbourne, Australia. And, aft being sent to prison, besides escaped successful wide daylight. He, however, spent 10 years moving earlier helium was yet arrested successful Germany wherever helium spent the amended portion of 2 years successful prison. Later, helium was extradited backmost to Australia, wherever helium served different 7 years. Two of those years were spent successful solitary confinement, wherever helium was capable to constitute Shantaram.

Despite its popularity soon aft being published — and involvement from immoderate of Hollywood’s starring actors — the book’s adaptation has had a agelong roadworthy to being actualized. Soon aft being published successful 2003, Russell Crowe made his interests successful the adaptation known. Then, successful 2004, Warner Bros. paid millions for the rights to a movie that would prima Johnny Depp. Once the director, Peter Weir, near the task successful 2006, it would instrumentality different 7 years for determination to beryllium immoderate speech of the movie again. Joel Edgerton was positioned arsenic the movie’s caller pb successful 2013, but nary adaptation was made.

Eventually, Warner Bros.’s rights to the movie expired successful 2015, aft which accumulation institution Anonymous Content and Paramount Television Studios were capable to get the rights, with the last merchandise going to Apple. What was planned arsenic a movie adaptation of 900+ pages turned into a much manageable amusement bid stretched retired implicit respective episodes.

What to expect from the archetypal 3 episodes of Shantaram

The caller amusement has 12 hour-long episodes and boasts Steve Lightfoot arsenic its showrunner (The Punisher and Hannibal). It starts with Lin’s aforementioned flight from a Melbourne situation and a backstory that reveals him to person studied to go a paramedic, a vocation way that was sacrificed by his addiction. Once helium flees to 1980s Bombay with a fake passport and caller identity, helium yet finds himself successful the poorness stricken Sagar Wada. His usher turned person Prabhu, played by Shubham Saraf, helps him accommodate to his caller location and shows him the merits of opening up a session for radical successful the area.

The amusement seems acceptable to subvert the accustomed expectations that travel with shows wherever an outsider exhibits immoderate signifier of saviorism. It does this by questioning whether the assemblage Lin is successful would beryllium amended without him, and adjacent if his marque of altruism isn’t purely self-serving. This changeless questioning is an illustration of equilibrium passim the show. A equilibrium that is exemplified by his person Prabhu’s inherent goodness against different characters, galore of them expats with questionable morals, similar Afghan mafia person Abdul Khader Khan (played by Alexander Siddig) and the alluringly mysterious Swiss American migrant Karla (Antonia Desplat).

Shantaram‘s cinematography and fig of characters and subplots marque for a affluent viewing acquisition that truly captures the complexity of Lin’s conflict acceptable against the backdrop of a beauteous country.

Shantaram premieres connected Apple TV+ connected October 14.