‘Shantaram,’ Gandhi’s Assassin, Ophelia: The Many Faces of Shubham Saraf
variety.comNaman Ramachandran During his eclectic career so far British actor Shubham Saraf has played a variety of roles.Saraf, who studied at the U.K.’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama and France’s École Philippe Gaulier, played an aristocrat in newly independent India in Mira Nair’s BBC/Netflix series “A Suitable Boy”; a policeman in Netflix procedural “Criminal: U.K.” and a PR advisor in Jed Mercurio’s BBC series “Bodyguard.”The actor stars opposite Charlie Hunnam and Alexander Siddig in the upcoming Apple TV+ adaptation of Gregory David Roberts’ bestseller “Shantaram,” which tells the story of a heroin addict and convicted bank robber who, in the 1980s, flees Australia to India, where he reinvents himself as a doctor and a gangster in the slums of Bombay.
Saraf’s role is under wraps at the moment but he describes the process as an “intense life-altering experience.” Once cast, in the middle of COVID-19, Saraf’s life was “upended at short notice” and he shot in Thailand and Australia for six months after spending two weeks in quarantine in each country.
Though set in India, it was impossible to shoot there because of the pandemic and Thailand stood in for the country’s exteriors while the studio interiors were filmed in Melbourne.“I got to see Bangkok in a prime COVID curfew state — it’s a Bangkok that no one hopefully will never see again, but it was a very singular experience,” Saraf told Variety.“Nothing about ‘Shantaram’ was ever easy, it was a joyous challenge to everyone involved,” Saraf added. “Apple had a bit of forest in the suburbs one hour outside of Bangkok and built an entire slum set, with a running river in the middle of it.
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