Director Garth Davis in talks to direct `Shantaram`

Los Angeles: `Top of the Lake` helmer Garth Davis is in early talks to direct the movie adaptation of Gregory David Roberts` famous India-set novel `Shantaram`.

Joel Edgerton, who starred as Tom Buchanan in Baz Luhrmann`s `The Great Gatsby`, is attached to play the lead in the Johnny Depp and Warner Bros produced movie, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The story centers on an Australian heroin addict convicted of robbery who escapes from a prison and reinvents himself as a doctor in the slums of Bombay. Depp is producing with Infinitum Nihil partner Christi Dembrowski and Graham King. Depp, who once considered playing the role, jump started the project by courting Edgerton for the lead role. Warner Bros bought the movie rights for `Shantaram` for USD 2 million in 2004 but the movie adaptation faced roadblocks initially. Indian-American filmmaker Mira Nair was once attached to direct the project but things fell apart due to the strike by Hollywood Writers Guild of America. PTI