ivan mcfie

The reviews vary wildly for this show- some are happy with it, lots of “purists” are very unhappy with its inauthenticity. This review is from one of the many many disappointed purists This sad adaptation fails to capture the energy of youthful, desperate western criminals in a 1980s Bombay underworld as well as failing to capture the rawness, vitality and dirt of an emerging modern Mumbai. It felt like it could have been anywhere, a uninspired soap opera that didn’t capture the desperation, the fear, or the misery. The book, while a bit self obsessed was a visceral journey into a world I didn’t know (although I did experience the Afghan soviet war, in the flesh, this was viscerally brought to life in the book- which I was hoping for in the tv show) This could have been set anywhere, in Dallas or Birmingham or Adelaide, and it would have felt the same The acting felt uninspired, wooden. It made me care too much about the actors but not in the right way, I didn’t get to inhabit the rawness of their lives, I just didn’t want anything bad to happen to them, rather then experiencing a range of feelings because of what happened to them. So dull. Could have been such a great tale of guilt and redemption and coming of age… but what we got was “Eastenders” (a long running UK soap) set in India. But somehow despite the themes being prostitution, drug running and kidnap, it feels like characters in “shantaram” are running banal humdrum lives that make “Eastenders”lives glamorous and exciting in comparison as they sit down to do some knitting with a cup of tea….yawn! It must have been terrifying life to live for goodness sakes. Where is that on the screen…? It goes through the motions of the above, but I never felt it…. I’m glad it’s been cancelled I’m very disappointed Such a wasted opportunity (Alexander Sidique- you were great, in case you ever see this review. I worked with you on another film in a previous life, many years ago. loved your performance here)