This book is full of real "characters" LOL as you were reading the book and as we've gotten into the discussion a bit more...if you could cast the movie, who would you like to see play any or all of the characters?

The first time I read the book, last summer, I had no idea who should play Karla. But this time through I kept seeing Jennifer Connelly. I think she has the right look ~ edgy and beautiful, with a certain sly quality that makes you think she's got a hidden agenda or two! I think she could hold her own playing opposite Johnny, and I don't think there are many actresses who could/can.
The first time reading Didier I cast Willem DeFoe, hands down. Now I'm not so sure, but I don't know who would be better. Someone Willem-esque. :P
There are so many fine European actors I don't know about who I'm sure would be perfect for these roles. Not to mention a TON of talent in India for all the Indian parts. I can't wait to see who they decide on to play Parbu, and Vikram! Mira Nair has been known to recruit people right off the street for extras in her films, and I bet she won't have any trouble doing that this time, filming in her home country. I think this movie is going to introduce us to some wonderful new faces!

Willem Dafoe! Interesting idea!!

I do hope we get to see some really great new talent!!

I'd like Rachel Weisz for Karla............

I don't know many actors, and I'm very glad someone other than Angelina Jolie was suggested ! Rachel is very beautiful ! Much 'nicer' than Angelina.

Do they often change the appearance of actors from the original book images? :blink:

This is an interesting question because I have a piece of paper in the back of my book with a list of people who I can see playing that character...it's helped me to identify with the characters as I read.

Anyway, here's what I have written down:

Lin - Johnny! :rolleyes:

Karla - Shilpa Shetty

Vikram - Jeff Goldbaum

Didier - Jeremy Irons

Johnny Cigar - John Waters (I can't shake the image from my mind :lol: )

Abdullah Tahri - Naveen Andrews (From 'Lost' )

Khaderbhai - Kiefer Sutherland

I've got loads of other descriptions of the characters that Greg has provided in the book, but those don't have names attached.

I don't really pay that much attention to actors/actresses when it comes to movies. I like to get "lost" in a film and when I can't get past a certain actor playing a role, I don't like the movies as much. One of the reaons I love Johnny so much as an actor is because on film, he becomes the character - I don't love Johnny playing CJS, I love CJS. I don't love Johnny playing Roux, I love Roux. On the other hand, I can't go to a Tom Cruise movie and get lost in a character - it is always Tom Cruise playing the character. Does that make sense?

But to expand on what Parlez is saying - those cast will need to be able to hold their own against Johnny - I wouldn't want the casting directors job for Shantaram - Lin associates with too many key players throughout the book that playing against Johnny will need to be a consideration for many parts, not just a few!

That's what I was wondering too!
So I based my opinions on who I thought would like to see in the role.

Prabaker-Kal Penn
Khaderbhai- Liam Neeson
Karla- Catherine Zeta Jones
Vikram-Joaquin Phoenix

Joaquin Phoenix - yes!!! I'd love to see him in a movie with Johnny!! Liam Neeson too! And, while I think they'd want to cast Indian actors for Indian parts, I could see Joaquin as Didier, maybe?
Catherine Z-J would make a great Karla - very dynamic and strong-willed! I watched part of a movie on TV last night with Kate Beckinsale and Christian Bale... I wondered about her for Lettie and him for Maurizio (assuming they keep that monster in the movie)?
I loved Naveem Andrews in The English Patient! I hope he finds a part in Shantaram. He'd make a great Abdullah!
:thumbsup

Yes, it makes sense to say that you can't see the character for the actor. LOL Two examples for me are always Jack Nicholson and sad to say... Nic Cage.

Really good ideas about casting!!!

I agree ~ Johnny melts into his roles so beautifully! And he really wants to be part of the cast, not the stand-alone star of the show. Wasn't that the great debate about his participation in more POTC films ~ that he didn't want the project to become the 'Captain Jack show'?
Well, it's a fine goal, but I'm thinking that ship has sailed! The success of POTC had turned up the wattage on our humble actor's actor and turned him into a super star, for better or worse.
Of course, in my day (waay back when) it was the movie star you went to see ~ Paul Newman, Steve McQueen and their ilk. You went to see what they'd do with the part, and you were usually happy with the movie, but you never lost sight of the fact that it was PAUL NEWMAN or STEVE MCQUEEN up there on the screen.
Times have changed, maybe, or actors aren't so willing to carry that burden of star recognition anymore, I don't know. But, for me, I'm content to watch Johnny perform as various film characters and still know that it's JOHNNY DEPP up there on the screen. :)
Yeah, and what happened to Nic Cage?? He used to be so good!!

I would love to have Philip Seymour Hoffman as Didier. :thumbsup :thumbsup :thumbsup
and I could see Eva Green as Karla

:snoopy YES!!

I think y'all's casting ideas are all just fantastic! I think JDR should cast the film!

About the question of casting according to description in a book. Usually it depends on who they cast and if they think a major change in appearance would be detrimental to the character.


In Chocolat, Roux had long red hair, and remember they tried out a curly red wig on Roux and it didn't work.

JDR should cast it. I should cast it.

If they include Hasaan Obikwa I'd like to see Djimon Honsou in that role.

How about bringing Liz Taylor out of retirement to play Madam Zhou? :lol:

I like it!

I've got Rachel McAdams cast as Lisa Carter. :D

Milla Jovovich as Ulla.

yes.....they would be fresh and wonderful.



I missed yet another calling: casting director. ;)

I'd put Kal Penn as Vikram. I am at a loss for Prabu--someone I don't know yet is perfect. I'm just not up on my Indian actors, but Mira Nair is. :claphands

The Indian actor who played Nehru in the film "Gandhi" years ago keeps coming to my mind when I think of Prabaker. I know that fellow is probably too old now, but he had an amazing smile and a wonderful screen presence.
I can definitely see Ms Taylor in the part of Madame Zhou...or maybe John Travolta?! :lol:

Perhaps Naomi Watts as Lettie.

Found an Indian actor who looks like my image of a Didher..
Google: Mithun Chakraborty photo
I have NO idea who he is, or his acting, but he is an actor that suits the image in my head! :D

Hold up there, Mate ~ are you talking about Prabu or Didier? Because Didier, at least as written in the book, isn't Indian; he's French! merde! ;)

Apologies...VIKRAM

I'd like a French actor as Didier :) There are many awsome French actors and at least that way they'd get the accent right (I don't think I've seen any actor for whom English was their native language who got a French accent right). I'm not a big fan of him, but I can imagine Vincent Cassel as being very good in this part.

For Prabaker maybe Vijay Raaz (some of you might remember him from Monsoon Wedding?).

For Abdullah I want Abhishek, Amitabh Bachchan's son :D He's totally got the physique for it. Below is a clip from Yuva. He and that girl are in a relationship where he keeps beating her up and then they keep making it up. So that's the essence of the scene:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=a_Lb-wJVDlc

For Vikram I want any good Bollywood hero ;) Though nobody is really coming to mind at the moment *humph*
As for Mithun Chakraborty - I don't know him either, but I checked him on imdb (and then again on google) and he was born in 1947, so he's about 60 now... And more recently I think he looks something like this, so er maybe not for Vikram? :D

For Karla I honestly don't know... I quite like the idea of Raquel Weisz, but I hope they look at some German and Swiss actresses.

I love the idea of Elizabeth Taylor as Madam Zhou lol It would be perfect, only it's so not going to happen :P And I'm all for Djimon Honsou as well!

I'm very happy with the casting decisions they have made so far. Johnny as Lin, Mr Bachchan as Khader and Bipasha Basu as Kavita - I think all awsome choices. And also I'm excited for whether Shahrukh gets signed as Qasim - I really hope so cause that would be my choice as well (although at the same time I keep getting the impression I'm going to be let down on that one :P ).

The thought did cross my mind, but I need a bigger smile. :D
Vijay might make a good India Guest House manager though.

I was thinking of a shorger boxer type of person for Abdullah.
But have no suggestions.

These suggestions as all so interesting, since I know nothing about Bollywood actors, I can only go by looks! Thanks so much for the links.

Same here! I'm going to be so pleasantly surprised and delighted by the 'new' faces I see on the screen in this movie!! I totally trust Mira Nair to find just the right actors from the pool of international talent! woohoo

I think they're going to have a difficult job of finding the perfect Prabaker actually... The big stars don't have the physique for it, so they're out. And finding that smile isn't going to be easy either!
For the India Guest House manager I was thinking somebody a little more stocky. Though I don't have anybody particular in mind. Again I'd be surprised if they found the right kind of guy amongst the big stars.

I don't have the book with me because I've lent it to somebody, but I thought Abdullah was supposed to be of a similar build to Lin? Tall and quite strong looking? If not then I've imagined him totally wrong :lol:
As for a shorter boxer type - perhaps Ajay Devgan fits your bill? He's a rather big star, but a bit on the less commercial side of Bollywood. And he's also known for his fighting sequences, they're usually very spectacular.
If anybody still has the strength to view more clips :D then here's a romantic scene from Omkara with Ajay Devgan and Kareena Kapoor. There's even some sex there which you don't see in Bollywood all that often. The music is by Vishal Bharadwaj who will be doing the music for Shantaram:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=38p2K98OIG4

I saw you suggested Hrithik for Abdullah on the other thread :D I think he's too good-looking :P They'd have to try to make him look uglier and I tell you with Hrithik that's not so easy :P I don't think I've ever seen him not looking at least a little poster boyish.
Maybe they could take him for Vikram, but I still think Hrithik is just a bit too good-looking to look "real" ;)
That said, I've always been shocked that Hollywood never tried to cast him for anything. He's got the kind of looks that could pass as Latino and his English is good enough to do an American accent. And I think obviously he has a great sort of physique and presence for commercial cinema. So why he still hasn't been discovered by Hollywood is beyond me!

That's funny, roz! Your thoughts on Hrithik could just as easily be said of Johnny, at least uptil POTC! They can try to rough him up, but the poster boy good looks are hard to disguise. He, too, is too good looking to be 'real'! :thud So, maybe for Hrithik it's only a matter of time before he's discovered by Hollywood, just like Sri Depp!

I know this is blasphemy on these boards, but I've never thought of Johnny as really good-looking *quickly finds something to hide behind* I think he's very sexy (possibly even a lot more than some of the guys I would call really good-looking), but I would never call him a conventionally good-looking guy. I mean I think he can be made up to look very good and I think he's generally got a face that can be changed a lot with make up, but when you see pics of Johnny when he's dressed casually with no make up then there's nothing glamourous about him (and I don't mean this in a bad way - I like that!).
But Hrithik even when he's dressed casually with no make up still looks a little glamourous. See here for example (Hrithik with his wife):
http://www.ourbollywood.com/2007/08/images...s_of_hrith.html
I don't think he's particularly vain, so I'm sure that if somebody wanted to "uglify" him for a film he'd be fine with that, but so far in my imagination I just can't picture him as anything but a "pretty boy" :P And so for Abdullah who in my imagination is quite a rough looking guy, with maybe some scars I just can't see Hrithik as him...

Well, this is a first ~ I never in my wildest dreams thought I'd be defending Johnny Depp's beauty, especially on one of his fansites! I'm totally at a loss for words...and that's very unusual for me! :P
Anyway, Abdullah, in my imagination, has an air of elegance about him, for all his gangster ways. I see him as being tall, well-built but not stocky, with or without scars (optional!), and graceful in a powerful sort of way. Hrithik might fill the bill if he can move the way I imagine Abdullah moving.

Yikes, I didn't mean it that way! Johnny is very beautiful! :snoopy

I just meant that for me Johnny never had "the poster boy look". I mean like you've got Tom Cruise with his straight, ideally white teeth and this face that looks almost like it's been computer generated (perhaps a little less so now when he's starting to age a bit) and any interview, any photo I've seen he pretty much always looks like that or not very far off. If you asked me to imagine him first thing in the morning I couldn't do it (even though it's possible he's done that sort of a look in a film - I don't know ;) I still can't imagine it though!).
Johnny is different. A lot of the interviews I've seen with him or photos when he's in casual situations, he's looked just very normal. I have no trouble picturing him first thing in the morning ;) Which doesn't mean he can't be made up to look quite poster boyish. He has a really great face for an actor cause there's a lot you can do with make up to make him look glamourous or ugly or just normal. And actually, one of the things I really love about him is that he's not afraid to look bad! Imagine somebody like Tom Cruise doing the syphilis scenes from Libertine - it just wouldn't happen, would it?

Don't get me wrong, when I say Johnny isn't conventionally good-looking I don't mean he's not attractive! I just think that if you showed somebody who had no idea who he was a random photo of him, they wouldn't think his looks are anything special. I guess it would depend on the photo, but still...
I remember when I was about 12-13 and for whatever reason "Benny and Joon" was a very popular film amongst my friends at the time. He became quite the heart throb for us because of that film, but based on his looks a lot of people were a bit puzzled with our choice of heart throb ;) But I think a lot of people got interested in Johnny because of films where he looks far from poster boyish (Pirates are a good example!), so clearly his attractivess is about a lot more than looks?

Have I explained that better? :) Or are you still too shocked for words? ;)

I've seen only one whole film with Hrithik, so I don't think I have enough material to give you an opinion. Certainly, he's not renowned for his character acting (and on all the clips I've seen he moves pretty much the same). On the other hand people are quite excited about his new film - Jodhaa Akbar. No trailers have been released yet, but the director previously got some subtle acting out of Shahrukh (which most people thought wasn't possible ;) ). It will also be a huge departure for Hrithik since it's the first time he's doing a costume drama. And certainly he's a very ambitious guy.
But I think Abhishek is a better bet. I'm not sure if he'd fit your movement criteria. Certainly more recently he's been getting rave reviews from critics (not many Bollywood stars get those ;) most of them get critisized for being "stars but not actors"). Particularly for his last film, Guru, he got massive critical acclaim. In terms of looks he's a bit taller than Hrithik and narrower in the shoulder and chest (which should suit your vision of Abdullah, no? :) ). He also usually looks very impressive when he's beating somebody up on screen - it looks dangerous which is precisely what I'd want for Abdullah :)

There is something special about Johnny's looks, he can go from a normal average guy to maniacal to dreamy and yet, I suspect when he doesn't want to be recognised he can move about very easily. BUT he can also walk into a room and have everyone draw in their breath at the same time.

Thanks for the info on the actors! You have taught me so much!!! I do appreciate it!!

Yeah, this I definitely agree with :D

I'm doing it for totally selfish reasons - I'm enjoying being able to write about what I'm obsessed with at the moment ;)
Actually, I'd love to write more only I'm worried I'm going to overdo it! There's loads of clips - interviews, trailers etc. which I could post... Info on the biggest stars... Info on the most popular films in recent years...
If you think that sort of thing is fine then I can go ahead and write this stuff up (and with pleasure ;) ), but I'm not sure how useful that would be or even if it's still linked close enough to Shantaram. I guess a write up on the films would be useful if anyone wanted to choose some Bollywood films to watch (in the US it's really not that difficult - at least when I've looked at on-line rentals there's lots of stuff available), but I'm not sure any of you actually want to go that far... Basically, let me know how far you want me to go with this :) Because for me the topic is almost endless...

I am personally thrilled that you are willing and interested in sharing your knowledge and passion about Bollywood with us! woohoo Please feel free to share what you are comfortable with, those who are interested will lap it up!

Being honest, we know that not everyone will be interested in everything that we post here on JDR about any subject, but if you are willing to share, I think there are people who will love to learn more. Again, as long as you are comfortable sharing, please do! :thanks

Well spoke, Karen! :thanks We have an accord!

Oh brilliant - I've got free reign then woohoo

Expect more then in the near future ;)