Washington
(ANI):
Johnny
Depp
starrer
Shantaram
has
become
the
third
big
movie
to
be
halted
due
to
the
writer"s
strike
that
has
already
grounded
Ron
Howard-directed
"Angels&Demons" and
the
Oliver
Stone-directed
"Pinkville".
Warner
Bros.
has
called
off
a
February
production
start
on
"Shantaram,"
Mira
Nair's
adaptation
of
the
Gregory
David
Roberts
novel
of
the
same
name.
Depp,
who
is
also
producing
the
film
with
Graham
King,
was
going
to
star
in
it
in
the
lead
role,
playing
an
Australian
heroin
addict
who
escapes
a
maximum-security
prison,
reinvents
himself
as
a
doctor
in
the
slums
of
India
and
eventually
uses
gun-running
and
counterfeiting
skills
to
fight
against
the
invading
Russian
troops
in
Afghanistan.
Bollywood
actor
Abhishek
Bachchan
was
also
set
to
star,
reports
Variety.
According
to
sources,
Warner
Bros.,
Nair,
King
and
Depp
plan
to
start
work
on
the
film
as
soon
as
possible.
The
movie
has
been
a
top
priority
for
WB
ever
since
it
shelved
out
2
million
dollars
for
the
rights
to
the
book.
Apart
from
script
considerations,
sources
have
also
attributed
the
postponement
to
other
factors,
such
as
the
onset
of
monsoon
season
in
India
and
a
snag
over
how
much
time
Depp
would
spend
shooting
there
vs.
New
Mexico,
where
part
of
the
film
will
be
shot