Mira Nair (“The Namesake”, “Vanity Fair”, “Monsoon Wedding”) will direct big-budget Johnny Depp starrer “Shantaram” for Warner Bros. Pictures, Initial Entertainment Group, Plan B and Infinitum Nihil.
Nair’s arrival means the project --which may be Depp’s next starring vehicle after “Sweeney Todd” – is back on track after helmer Peter Weir dropped out last summer reports Variety.
In “Shantaram,” an Australian heroin addict escapes from a maximum-security prison and reinvents himself as a doctor treating the destitute in the slums of Bombay. His drive to procure medicine leads him into counterfeiting, gun-running and smuggling.
Nair will direct from a script by Eric Roth, who is adapting Gregory David Roberts’ tome of the same name. Production is likely to begin as soon as this fall, with a possible 2008 release.
the book was an awesome read, can't wait for the movie to come out. i would've loved to see russel crowe playing Shantaram; Johnny Depp looks more like Abdullah's character in the book. Wonder who'll play Khader Bhai?
i'll be in Mumbai this week, and i plan to go see that famous Haji Ali mosque that's mentioned in the book. And let's see if i can spot that restaurant too where they all hung out ... would be kewl!
I love the characters Johnny Depp plays, he has an eye for unusual scripts and abstract roles, this role sounds very much like his kind of thing - I'm looking forward to it...!