Labels: annonymous, shantaram
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i'm bang in the middle of shantaram, chapter 24 actually. so, quite fascinated, i went to the net to chk out what this guy was upto now and more about him. found out two things - first, it ain't all that real! also, turns out, he's become a bit of a...well...sissy! here was this, hulking dirty blonde mean ol' mate from f-oster-alia. and now he's doing 'writing art' (what is that?) and saying things like -
' I feel honoured that you've shared that crying moment with me, and I hope that you find just as much emotion in the pages of the sequel. Hang in there. I know how hard it can be, believe me. I've suffered to the wide horizon, and found myself afloat on the cold, merciless, rolling ocean of despair. But I survived. And having survived, I know, now, that there's no such thing as too much to bear. '
(responding to a mail by a fan who cried when she read of Prabhakar's death)
Now don't get me wrong - i still think its a FANTASTIC book, one that any of my many brain-dead brain-drainers (read fellow engineering students) should read. Maybe they'll understand why i insist india is the best country to be in right now.
All I'm saying is..why God why? why couldn't he have maintained the strong silent type character. It makes me lose value for so much of the book, the parts I thought were about a man grappling to come to terms about emotions without speaking of them to anyone. I now feel that maybe all those parts were actually mushy conversations with Khader and Abdullah - only since they don't make for good copy, he didn't put it in.
here's the before and after...
i mean come on! the one thing that keeps me happy that the book isn't real is that his highly personal description of Karla and his 'whatever' may not be real. When i thought it was, I found it utterly scndalising that he would reveal it in such detail for a book. I guess even an aussie can't stay in bombay without getting bollywoodized a bit, eh?
moving on to the movie - now there's something to chirp about. amitabh as Khader - brilliant. johnny depp is well - its him and he'll be 'bloody brilliant.' as for SRK...I mean come on SRK? really? the five-expression actor? what about nana patekar. and while we're at the good casting suggestions - kk menon as prabhaker.
still, looking forward to the movie.