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Much like the busy markets and packed streets of Bombay (here, Thailand and Melbourne play the part, after COVID cases made India unsafe to shoot), “Shantaram” is packed to the gills with characters, subplots, and interweaving, dense palace intrigue. It’s a lot to take in, especially as you get your head around the sheer number of players Lightfoot et al. ask you to invest in. It can sometimes take half the season before you really zero in on a character’s name, or why you should care about them. Granted, it helps to sell the urban sprawl of its handsomely staged setting, and it all coalesces in a largely cohesive climax in its final three episodes. But until then, expect to take notes.
It helps, fortunately, that you always feel in good hands, and “Shantaram” keeps itself afloat from moment to moment by its cast and presentation. Hunnam, as always, makes for a winsome lead, especially when he’s on a journey of redemption. He’s often wasted as a movie-star leading man (see: “Pacific Rim,” much as I enjoy it, and “Papillon”), but he’s got the quiet sophistication and rugged vulnerability to inject a lot of depth into his wounded TV heroes.
Lin’s not too far removed from Jax, the character Hunnam played on “Sons of Anarchy”—a lost boy who can take care of himself but hardly ever knows which way his compass is pointing. Here, he wants to make good, but knows the sins of the past will never truly escape him. Even as the show’s big hero, he recognizes late in the season that his altruism and hero-of-the-people status is at least partially rooted in selfishness: “I wanted to pay my debt so I could leave.”
And blissfully, “Shantaram” is rich enough in detail that it can sustain itself even when it turns its camera away from Hunnam’s ruggedly handsome face. Siddig has long been a world-class actor in search of the kinds of meaty roles that merit his talents, but he purrs with calculating piety as Khader Khan—a dangerous man who’s convinced himself he’s a savior to the very people he wishes to manipulate. Desplat’s Karla is also a strong presence, with the challenging task of serving multiple masters (femme fatale, Lin’s love interest, double-crossing schemer) over the course of the season. And Fayssal Bazzi cuts a striking figure as Khan henchman Abdullah, who becomes one of Lin’s many allies as the show progresses.
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