Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Game of Thrones alum Alexander Siddig will star opposite Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy) in Apple’s international drama series Shantaram, based on Gregory David Roberts’ bestselling novel, Deadline reports.
Shot across two continents, Shantaram tells the story of Lin (Hunnam), a man on the run from an Australian prison looking to get lost in the teeming city of Bombay. Cut off from family and friends by distance and fate, he finds a new life in the slums, bars and underworld of India.
Siddig will play the series-regular role of Khader Khan, the revered kingpin of Bombay’s underworld who acts as a surrogate father to Lin.
The series, which shot two episodes before pausing filming in late-February 2020, is gearing up for to restart production in May on the remaining 10 episodes.
Apple Book’s publisher’s description:
It took me a long time and most of the world to learn what I know about love and fate and the choices we make, but the heart of it came to me in an instant, while I was chained to a wall and being tortured.
So begins this epic, mesmerizing first novel by Gregory David Roberts, set in the underworld of contemporary Bombay. Shantaram is narrated by Lin, an escaped convict with a false passport who flees maximum security prison in Australia for the teeming streets of a city where he can disappear.
Accompanied by his guide and faithful friend, Prabaker, the two enter Bombay’s hidden society of beggars and gangsters, prostitutes and holy men, soldiers and actors, and Indians and exiles from other countries, who seek in this remarkable place what they cannot find elsewhere.
As a hunted man without a home, family, or identity, Lin searches for love and meaning while running a clinic in one of the city’s poorest slums, and serving his apprenticeship in the dark arts of the Bombay mafia. The search leads him to war, prison torture, murder, and a series of enigmatic and bloody betrayals. The keys to unlock the mysteries and intrigues that bind Lin are held by two people. The first is Khader Khan: mafia godfather, criminal-philosopher-saint, and mentor to Lin in the underworld of the Golden City. The second is Karla: elusive, dangerous, and beautiful, whose passions are driven by secrets that torment her and yet give her a terrible power.
Burning slums and five-star hotels, romantic love and prison agonies, criminal wars and Bollywood films, spiritual gurus and mujaheddin guerrillas—this huge novel has the world of human experience in its reach, and a passionate love for India at its heart. Based on the life of the author, it is by any measure the debut of an extraordinary voice in literature.
MacDailyNews Take: Shantaram is still not officially announced by Apple, having been delayed due to the COVID-19 response, but with actors like Alexander Siddig and Charlie Hunnam, we expect it to be another entry into Apple TV+ lineup of excellence.
Incredible book. I hope the TV series does it justice.
TIM COOKS EVIL APPLE IS RIGHT NOW BLOCKING MYANMAR FROM COMMUNICATING WHILE THEY ARE TRYING TO PROTECT THEMSELVES FROM THE HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES OF THE PRIOR REGIME. “On the very day the UN said those in Myanmar unable to access the internet because of the military-imposed blackouts should use ProtonMail or Signal, Apple prevented ProtonVPN from updating its iOS app.”
For some strange reason, Tim Cook has become Lucifer and is doing all he can to have Apple do evil all day long. What a change from the great company Steve Jobs created. Tim Cook must leave Apple now. He is a danger to civil society.
Apple is not RIGHT NOW blocking anything. The previous version of ProtonVPN was available without interruption. There was a delay in approving an upgrade because the product description made the app’s implicit purpose (that people use VPNs to violate local laws and evade intellectual property restrictions) explicit. Apple cannot appear to be part of an international criminal conspiracy if it wants to continue doing business anywhere.
When Proton altered the description to preserve the illusion of legality, Apple approved the upgrade, so it is available everywhere RIGHT NOW. The timing of the dispute during the Myanmar protests was extremely unfortunate but it hardly reflects a pro-dictatorship attitude on Apple’s part. Proton was already at war with Apple over App Store policies, so this was an opportunity for them to ramp up their rhetoric.
Apple is part of the criminal conspiracy in the US to censor all conservative opinion. Apple has chosen to be part of the cabal along with Facebook, Twitter and Google. All evil corporations siding with a communist coup. Very sad. And it will be undone and Tim will be removed from Apple. Who knows if the damage he has done can be fixed.
Yeah, apple may be a tool to control and monitor our activity and speech. Especially some other sites, such as reddit, crunchbase – https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/sugar-daddy-websites
Sounds like it will be a great series! I assume it will include plenty of BIPOC, LGBTQAI+, and BIPOC LGBTQAI+ characters (played by BIPOC, LGBTQAI+ and/ or BIPOC LGBTQA+ actors). Wouldn’t watch it if it didn’t.