Shantaram

I have to say I have never read or even heard of the books for Shantaram so I wasn't sure what to expect but being a Charlie Hunnam fan I thought I'd give it a try. So far so good. Hunnam does an excellent job as the lead here and the rest of the cast all do a good job too. Some people are complaining about his accent but I don't see any problems with it and if that's the reason you don't like the show then that's your problem. I've read that it stays pretty close to the source material so that should please some of the book lovers. It also portrays 1980's Bombay very well and the attention to detail is amazing. Overall the acting and storytelling is what makes this a good show. Hunnam is such an underrated actor, he's been great in just about everything he's been in. I'm glad that he's become the star he deserves to be.

Shantaram is quite well done with the atmosphere of Mumbai (Bombay) in the nineteen eighties portrayed accurately. The story is a more exciting rendition than the book, but still holds its own. Much of the scenery matches what I remember of the city. Even the giant open air laundry where Lin hides. The only thing missing is the traffic which even then was much heavier and gave the city its distinctive diesel smell.

Charlie Hunnam does a decent job of portraying an escaped Aussie convict. However I think the secondary characters add more. The denizens of the lowlife bar carry it off with real aplomb. The Mahashtri speaking locals with their casual insults about Westerners is very true to life.

I found the first ten minutes covering the arrival in Mumbai a little travelogue with shots of locals smiling and colourful market scenes. The border scene was tense but not true to life. Indians and Indian descendants are filtered to a thorough customs check whilst Westerners are usually fast track out the airport. Ditto the police stops. In that era a tourist would just pay a small "fine". But hey, it's fiction.

The story, once it gets going, is very watchable. A decent level of subterfuge and hidden agendas. Good all round acting.

'Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows' - Shakespeare in The Tempest Based on Gregory David Roberts's novel by the same name. Although, author claims it to be a novel but it is mostly an autobiography based on his days in Mumbai followed after his escaping from a maximum security prison. He began writing this novel during his prison stay and the manuscript was destroyed twice by the prison staff. I read this book during pandemic suggested by a friend. The story is thrilling ,electrifying and heartbreaking, poignant at the same time. It offers an emotional and philosophical experience and does not miss out the boisterous actions. The series (have watched only first 5 episodes) does recreate the 1980s Mumbai beautifully with vivid colors, the lamp-lit streets, from dhobighat and slums to the squandering affluent class, from a golden sunlight filling up the sultry air on the narrow streets of the city to the dancing moonlight on the cresting waves of the Arabian Sea. Bhupendra Singh's ghazal in one of the episodes is befitting the scene. The characters development is somewhat hurried but does not leave out much details. Commanding performance by Charlie Hunman as Lin, and equally convincong performances by the supporting cast, seamlessly woven the essence of author's experience with fictionalization but mostly the strong narrative that makes this series a great watch. I felt some parallels with Salaam Bombay by Mira Nair.

'God is impossible and that's why it exists!'

When the book was released people I know either loved it or hated it. One of my friends thought that Shantaram was going to change her life, I remember working in a dead end job and the staff shared a dog eared copy, dreaming of a better life. Another person howled at what he saw as a poorly written self-help manual. I think how you responded to the book depended on your state of mind. I loved it at the time and have waited a long time for the adaptation which could only have been made in the era of prestige TV.

The cast and crew have done a great job of filming the 'un-filmable' book. They have stayed fairly close to the source material from my recollection. I think Hunnam has given an accurate depiction of an Australian male, the immediate feeling someone is a 'mate' with affection and the easy larrikin humour. Having known people who have quit heroin Hunnam is convincing Dale/Lin as someone whose pain is raw and who desperately wants to atone for past sins. Can I remind everyone that not even Meryl Streep did a convincing Aussie accent? That being said, it will be interesting to see how the complex source material pans out over the series which I think is 12 episodes.

Updated: I just finished episode 10 and it was quite a tense and interesting part of the story. The whole series has taken ages to build up and I feel the writers could have selected parts of the source material but then again, they may have ruined a complex story. Lo and behold I just found out that Shantaram has been cancelled. It was a lot better than a lot of the uninteresting dross on Apple TV+ or Netflix for that matter. Overall, I would give the best episodes 8 out of 10 and the slowest one's 7 out of ten. Turns out the novel was un-filmable. Go figure. I might switch off my AppleTV+ subscription now, very little grabs my interest.

Came to write a glowing review for what is a superb adaptation of Greg David Roberts' novels. Not sure I need to as thankfully I'm not alone in thinking this was one of the best shows of the year. I've not always been Hunnam's biggest fan but he absolutely nails it, leading a wonderful ensemble of actors, all at the top of their game. Shubhab Saraf in particular gives a stellar performance as the street-sharp and immensely loveable Prabhu. A story of redemption and love set against a background of corruption, divides and the hardships they entail, the narrative races along immersing us in a strange new world that is foreign to all of us bar those who have visited India. I absolutely loved this show, with a passion.

So what's my gripe? Well here it is... Last night I watched the final episode of season one, an absolute cliff-hanger that sets up the second season beautifully without leaving the viewer feeling short-changed. 'To be continued' flashed up on the screen and needless to say I immediately checked for the scheduled release date, only to find Apple had already cancelled the show, before the final episode even screened. Their algorithm says 'no' apparently. Sod the subscribers, sod their enjoyment, sod building a loyal fanbase or attracting new subscriptions, if this doesn't work for the corporates filling the ad slots, then the game is up. Hike the prices again and **** the viewers. A wonderful way to engender good faith, no doubt! If there's one company that could afford to take a risk, then you'd think it would be Apple, a firm absolutely awash with cash, so here it is, my sad little one-man stand... No more Apple TV for me, no more iPhones and iPads, strictly Windows lappies moving forwards, Spotify over iTunes, Android over all of your proprietary BS. The group have revealed their true colours in recent years and their grasping nature with it. I'm out, for the very little I suspect that will ever mean to Apple. Corporates will be the death of creativity, mark my words :/