Is Shantaram’s character, Kavita Based on a Real Journalist? – Based on Gregory David Roberts’ novel of the same name, Shantaram is an American drama-thriller television series created by Eric Warren Singer and Steve Lightfoot. The plot, which centres on an Australian bank robber who escapes to India, was inspired by Roberts’ own life. The twelve episodes of the series will be helmed by Justin Kurzel and Bharat Nalluri.
After Eric Warren Singer left the project, Steve Lightfoot was brought in to serve as the showrunner. It was distributed by Apple Inc. for their streaming service, Apple TV+, and was made by Fair Honest Positive Creative, The 4 Keys, Bohemian Risk Productions, Square Head Productions, Anonymous Content, and Paramount Television Studios. On October 14, 2022, the television series debuted.
Kavita is a young journalist looking for a fresh angle, played by Sujaya Dasgupta. People are curious as to whether or not Kavita, the persona, is based on an actual journalist. Let’s investigate.
Is Kavita Based on a Real-Life Journalist?
The 936 page novel Shantaram, based on Gregory David Roberts’ work, has a flimsy gripping quality. The story of heroin addict and bank robber Dale (Charlie Hunnam) is told in Shantaram, which is set in 1980s Bombay. Dale escapes horrific torture and beatings at Pentridge Prison in Victoria, Australia, and ends himself in Bombay. According to the book’s official website, Roberts stated that most of the characters in the novel have “even a remote similarity to any genuine person I’ve ever known,” therefore it is reasonable to infer that Kavita is a fictitious character rather than the equivalent of any specific real journalist. Kavita, or any other character in the programme or the original novel for that reason, feels realistic for a reason.
In the words of Gregory David Roberts, “Characters can be actual individuals in this universe, but that’s really a form of photography in writing art.” It isn’t the genuine creation of a personality from scratch, complete with defects and virtues… The type of character we’re discussing here is real; it’s not a two-dimensional image, a cartoon, or something made up in your head for a quick joke. People may believe that a character is genuine even when they aren’t if you “follow all the steps, give them a deep biography, and imbue them with enough reality from things you actually know and have truly lived.”
Based on Gregory David Roberts’ statements, Kavita might be a made-up person who stands in for actual persons who sought to learn the truth about the author’s time spent in Bombay. Following his prison break, Roberts was in Bombay, just like Lin. There may have been individuals whose activities put Roberts’ safety in Bombay at danger by almost outing the fact that he was a wanted man. Roberts may have drawn inspiration for the character Kavita from his interactions with such individuals.
Roberts might have imagined Kavita in order to up the drama and tension in the novel’s plot. Roberts was successful in capturing Lin’s concerns of being discovered through Kavita. The reporter Kavita not only awakens Lin’s worries of being imprisoned once more, but also serves as a reminder that he is simply a runaway in exile. Given that Roberts sees “Shantaram” as a book on the “exile experience,” it’s possible that the author purposefully invented Kavita to show how Lin is always made to feel like an outsider.
When Will Shantaram Be Released?
On Friday, October 14, 2022, the first three episodes of Shantaram’s 12-episode first season will run, followed by one new episode every Friday until December 16, 2022.
Apple TV+ is currently streaming Shantaram.
