More locations for Gregory David Robert's classic tale of the Indian underworldShantalan (2003)They are real and still stand in Colaba, South Mumbai.
I went to find the exact location of the most famous places of Shantaram like Leopolda, the slum where Lin Baba lived, the first hotel where he stayed and even the place where he had sex with Karl.
UnfortunatelyShantaram Apple TV Series it was mainly filmed in australia and thailand Due to the COVID-19 pandemic.It's a pity, but at least now you can see the real location and visit it for yourself!
The first place Lin lived: India Guest House
On her first day in Mumbai, after meeting Prabaker, she stayed at an Indian hotel with several other Canadian tourists.
Smoking, drinking, dancing, music, sexy work, nothing is wrong here", Prabaker assures us, smiling happily, looking away from his task for a moment. "Everything is easy here. Except fighting. Fighting in India Guest House is not good practice.
"And then he died," Prabaker added, shaking Yuanyuan's head thoughtfully. "Mr Anand doesn't like people dying here.
Shanataram (2003) 作宇 Gregory'ego Davida Robertsa
Location on Google Maps:FabHotel Colaba Grande.
Where the Book Begins: Colaba Causeway
Near the India Guest House is the Colaba Causeway, the main road in the area, where Karla saved Lin from being hit by a bus and where their relationship began.
This area is called Colaba, located south of Mumbai, and is extremely important to the story, as it is where most of Shantaram takes place.
Location on Google Maps:Colab channel.
Notorious Bar: Leopold's Cafe
Leopold's, "the largest bar and restaurant in Colaba and one of the largest in the city," was known for its illegal drug, money, passport, gold and sex trades.
Leopolda is an unofficial free zone that is carefully ignored by the efficient officers of the Colaba Police Department on the other side of the busy street.
See AlsoThe Indian Chef Who Made Indian Cuisine World-renowned - JD SelectedNatural Spa Wonders: 15 Medicinal Hot Springs In India You Must VisitHowever, a special dialectic applies to the relationship between above and below the restaurant, inside and outside the restaurant, and governs all transactions within the restaurant.
Indian prostitutes, dressed in jasmine and bejeweled saris, are banned from the ground floor and can only escort customers upstairs to the bar.
European prostitutes are only allowed to sit downstairs, attracting the attention of men who sit at other tables or simply stop by on the street outside.
Drugs and other contraband are openly traded at the tables, but can only be redeemed outside the bar.
Shanataram (2003) 作宇 Gregory'ego Davida Robertsa。
In 2008, Leopold was targetedMumbai terrorist attack. There are still bullet marks in the cafe.
Today, Leopold's is a typical tourist restaurant with mediocre food. This is very disappointing and not a very relaxing place.
Instead, if you want authentic Iranian Indian (Parsi) food that Lin talks about in his book. goBritannia Company Restaurantrublesoda wala corkscrewA classic Parsi café. Order the Lamb Berry Palau and Chicken Sally - then thank me in the comments.
Location on Google Maps:Leopold's Cafe.
The police station where Lin was detained
Opposite Leopold is the Colaba Police Station, where Lim was first detained and then brutally imprisoned at the nearby Arthur Road Prison.
I will never forget the chapter in the book where he describes what it was like to be in an Indian prison.
The fourth room is known in closed lingo as a dukh mahal, or place of suffering, but many prefer the name Colaba police gave to the last row of cells: the Discovery Room.
Newcomers sometimes try their luck in the first room when they first enter the corridor through the steel door. The fifteen people in the room, as well as many servants in the corridor stood up one by one, shoved and threatened him, and shouted: "The next room!" The next room, you bastard!
As the body winds its way down the hallway under strain, it can try to enter another room. If no one there knew him, anyone who came near the door would slap him and slap his mouth. Next room, bastard!
The man was already shaking, and when he tried to enter the third room, he was pushed to the end of the corridor, and two or three men sitting or standing at the door of the room would punch and kick him. Next room! Sister in the next room!
When the newcomer was pushed all the way to the fourth room, the Discovery Room, he was greeted like a very welcome old friend. Come in, friend! Come in bro!
I was too stupid to come in, but fifty or sixty people squeezed into this dark and smelly room and beat me naked.
Their clothes are handed out according to a waiting list determined by a precise and constantly building pecking order. Their body cavities were searched thoroughly, looking for jewellery, drugs or money.
Shanataram (2003) 作宇 Gregory'ego Davida Robertsa。
Note: This is a sensitive area, so I dare not go sightseeing.
Google map location:Cole Police DepartmentandArthur Road Prison.
His first walk with Karl along the Mumbai waterfront from the Gateway of India to the Radio Club Hotel
The entire Colaba area of Mumbai is a popular tourist circuit, with the Gateway of India and the Taj Palace Hotel not far from Leopold.
Karla and Lin's first trip was along this jetty from the famous Gateway of India to the Radio Club Hotel.
Google map location:gate of india,Taj Mahal Hotel, IRadia Club Hotel.
Doku Sasunu
Lin used to come to Sassoon Wharf for dinner. The port used to be a smuggling hub but that ended when terrorists entered Mumbai through the port in 2008.
The slum where Lim lived and built his clinic: Cuffe Parade
This is probably the most historically important site, the Cuffe Parade slum. Mr Lim lives here and runs his clinic. Although today is not the same as it was in the 1980s.
Now with permanent concrete buildings, Lin's house and clinic are long gone.
You can come here, but I would choose the locals, because no one speaks English, it's like a maze, not very clean. You won't find Lena's actual home there, and we asked a few people who didn't know anything about Chantalam.
Location on Google Maps:J-Walk Gym(Entrance is nearby).
haji ali
Here's what Gregory David Roberts had to say about his experience at Haji Ali:
Interviewer: So what does Haji Ali Shrine mean to you?
Well, it's a peaceful place, a lonely place, a place where people from all over the city go on a journey, trying to find a sense of forgiveness for what they've done in the past.
But there were also gangsters in Mumbai, and when they knew they were going to have a showdown with another gangster, a war that could end in death, they would go there and take a shower first.
Then we continue to visit Haji Ali. just do it.
We try to prepare ourselves for what might happen, and then we go back to thinking only about the future and cutting off the ties to the past.
Gregory David Roberts, CNN Talk Azija.
Location on Google Maps:haji ali darga.
Kara and Lim have sex on the roof of the Air India building
Or maybe they? Gregory David RobertscomfirmedAll the characters are types of people he knows, but are fictional. However, some of the experiences in the story are real, while others are based on his experiences.
None of the characters are real. I'm glad people think it's true. Shantaram talks about his experience in exile. Every character is an exile. Only one character was born in Mumbai, the others all come to the stranded city in an attempt to reunite and discover who they are.
Gregory David Roberts on YouTube videoShantaram - Where was Kala created?.
If you want more Gregory David Roberts and Shantaram,Read this detailed interviewWith the release of the Shantaram sequel,shadow of mountain.
If you know of other places in Shantaram, please leave them in the comments and I will add them to this post.
FAQs
Who was Karla in Shantaram? ›
Shantaram (TV Series 2022) - Antonia Desplat as Karla - IMDb.
What nationality is Karla in Shantaram? ›There's a love story plot when Lin falls in love with Karla, a Swiss-American woman, but Lin is pulled back into a dark underworld.
Where was the palace in Shantaram filmed? ›Those scenes are shot at Pentridge Prison in Melbourne, which closed in the '90s.
What was Karla's job in Shantaram? ›Lin finally gets Karla to say what she does for a living: she's a facilitator. This means she makes sure people are having a good enough time so that her boss can seal deals. Enter Madame Zhou's, one of the "playgrounds" Karla uses to show folks a good time.
Is Karla a real person in Shantaram? ›Among the fake aspects include the love interest Karla, who was completely made up. In numerous interviews, Roberts has said he finds it flattering that so many people think she's real.
Do Lin and Karla sleep together? ›The plan succeeds in rescuing Lisa, but in the process, Madame Zhou blows Lin's cover and swears revenge. An outbreak of cholera brings terror to the slum. Lin's clinic is full of victims, and Karla helps him nurse the sick. The two become closer and sleep together for the first time.
Where is Karla Saaranen from? ›Karla Saaranen, a mysterious and beautiful Swiss woman that Lin meets early in his life in Bombay, turns out to be a very important figure in his adventure.
Is Prabhakar from Shantaram real? ›All of the characters in the novel, Shantaram, are created. None of the characters bears even a remote resemblance to any real person I've ever known.
Is Johnny Depp in Shantaram? ›It was later reported that Johnny & Amitabh are no longer a part of Shantaram & Joel Edgerton was roped in for the lead role but even then things couldn't move forward. And more than a decade later, Shantaram has finally been adapted for the screen as a series also featuring Radhika Apte.
Who are the real life characters in Shantaram? ›Prabhakar Kisan Khare was a real-life individual, as are the members of Khare family from the book (Kisan, Rukhma, Kishor and Parvati Khare) whose names appear on government issued identity cards. The family resides in the Navy Nagar slum where the lead character Shantaram also lived.
Is Karla in The Mountain Shadow? ›
Set mostly in modern Bombay, the sequel starts where Shantaram ended. It's been two years since the protagonist Lindsay lost two of the people closest to him: Kaderbhai, a mafia boss who died in the Afghan mountains, and Karla, a mysterious, coveted woman who eventually married a Bombay media mogul.
Who are the main characters in Shantaram? › Why was Shantaram cancelled? ›
The cancellation comes after a long struggle to get Gregory David Robert's novel adapted for the screen. Prior to being green-lighted by Apple TV+, multiple attempts to turn Robert's novel into a movie franchise had been unsuccessful, including Johhny Depp's campaign to adapt the novel.