There are some books like Godfather, which despite being one of the greatest fiction of all times, contains great philosophy and facts of
life. Shataram is another such book ( Puzo fans please pardon me, am not comparing this with the former ). Shantaram is a novel based on Australian fugitive Gregory David Roberts who comes to India escaping the international police with a forged passport and a duplicate identity (Lindsay).He was sentenced to punishment for involvement in drugs,heroines,robberies etc , but within a couple of years he escapes from the
prison and becomes one of the most wanted men in Australia. In India he
starts living in the Mumbai slum where he opens a free medical health clinic for the slum people and starts practicing as a doctor. He gets highly influenced with the Indian culture,Indian people and Mumbai,thus learns Hindi and Marathi . Working as a medical practictioner, Shantaram comes in contact with the Afghan mafia king Abdul Khader Khan who rules Mumbai. His network extends to black market currency exchange and passport forgery. Lindsay, after having a harrowing experience of getting caught and spending time in an Indian prison , becomes involved with the local mafia. He starts working for Khader Khan as a forger and a street soldier. Just not enough, he fells in
love with an American girl living in Mumbai, acts in some of the
Bollywood movies and later joins Abdul Khader Khan to fight along with Mujaheedeen against the Russian powers in Afghanistan. Apart from being a Don, Khader Khan was a great philosopher and he makes Shantaram realize the purpose of life. Its character somewhat resembles to Subhas Nagre of the bollywood movie Sarkar. Getting betrayed by his loved ones and losing close ones, Shantaram ends up believing he must fight for what he believes is right, and build an honest life in Bombay. David Roberts have succeeded in narrating the beauty of slum life, Gang wars, the Bars,Casinos , black marketing of foreign currencies and medicines in Mumbai , passport forgery business and above all the life of the refugees from across the world living in Mumbai , where they would love to be. Some lines from the book I will like to quote here : • When you are beaten by the bad guys, they are supposed to commit that crime, but when you are handcuffed, chained to the wall of the prison and being beaten by the guys in suits and boots , it’s like the whole world, whole system is against you. • We are all driven by a desire to find the meaning of life. • The difference as with most things in life , lies in motives and means. • The worst thing about corruption as a system of governance is that it works so well. • Men reveal what they think when they look away and what they feel when they hesitate. With women, it’s the other way round. • A dream is a place where wish and fear meet. When the wish and fear are exactly the same, we call it a nightmare. It is a novel embelished with all of the human emotional traits: love, hate, friendship, enemies, life and death. It’s a story of love, hatred, trust, betrayal, loyalty, survival, courage, freedom - it’s the story of –SHANTARAM. This is a true story and the first two version of the same was destroyed by the prison guards. This one is the third edition which was actually published. There is already a hollywood movie in making by Mira Nair . The main lead character of Shantaram will be played by Johnny Depp and the legendary Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan will be playing the role of Mumbai Don - Abdul Khader Khan.
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