Gregory david roberts and karla

After almost 20 years of discussions, plans, and aborted productions, Gregory David Roberts’ best-selling 2003 novel, Shantaram, is finally hitting the screen.

Having gone through potential leading men (Russell Crowe!

Then Johnny Depp! Then Joel Edgerton!), writers and directors quicker than ice melting in the Mumbai sun, it finally found a home in Apple TV+. Sons of Anarchy star Charlie Hunnam was soon cast as Lin, the protagonist of the epic story.

Four years later, we have our final, finished retelling of the story; a 12-episode series that, like the far-reaching action in the book, will jump from Australia to India to Afghanistan and beyond.

However, viewers of the new production – like the readers of the book – will likely find themselves questioning the story: how much of this, if anything, was based on true life?

In Roberts’ 933-odd page book, Lindsay (known as Lin) is a convicted Australian bank robber, who escapes