Episode 4 of “Shantaram” begins with a flashback scene of Lin Ford’s being in police custody where an attorney was speaking to him. The attorney forbade him to disclose his crime in court, but Lin was extremely guilty of what he had done earlier and wanted to confess. Previously, we have seen that, accompanied by a friend, Charlie, Lin robbed a bank, and during the escape, Lin accidentally shoots a cop. Since then, the memory of an unintentional murder has been haunting him. His mother had hired an expensive attorney to save him from arrest, but Lin admitted his crimes in court. The cop’s death and the bank employee’s frightened face flashed before his eyes, which compelled him to confess his guilt. Even though it was pointless at that moment, Lin wanted to write the dead cop’s wife a letter of apology. Lin thought that it was the only redemptive action he could take at that moment in order to acknowledge the thoughts haunting him.
The point of the flashback was to establish that the element of guilt is going to play a prominent role throughout the episode. As we have seen in “Shantaram” Episode 3, a woman named Laxmi lost her life, and Lin, who could not save her, held himself responsible for her death. Hence, throughout Episode 4, all of Lin’s actions are influenced by such feelings that weigh on his conscience.
Spoilers Ahead
Why Did Lin Want To Fix The Issues In The Slums?
We now return to the current timeline, where Lin is residing in an Indian slum, Sagar-Wada, in Bombay. Lin woke up in the slum and tried to put the past behind him to concentrate on the present. Sometimes the broken water taps and the torn clothes made him feel like it was another punishment for him to live here, just as Qasim had let him stay in Laxmi’s hut previously. Lin believed that if he saw his current circumstances as an adventure rather than a punishment, he would have another chance to redeem himself. He wanted to fix the condition of the slum just like he wanted to fix his own broken soul.
The first thing Lin wanted to fix was the notion of health in the slum dwellers’ minds. He also started seeing the people in order to treat their health-related problems. One of such visitors was a married elderly woman named Sonam, who complained about a wound on her private parts. When Lin requested to let him see her wound, she panicked and refused to show it to him. Hence, in order to treat her, Lin asked for Prabhu and Parvati’s assistance when they informed him about Sonam’s health and how she had been rejected by the government hospital three times. Lin understood the severity of her injury, so he took her to the hospital himself. The doctor in a government hospital demanded a bribe to see Sonam, because of which Lin lost his cool. Through this incident, he finally understood the corruption in the health sector in the country.
When Lin refused to pay the doctor, he just drove them away. Lin still did not give up because it was a matter of someone’s life. He committed an unforgivable sin in the past that still plagued him; thus, in the present, he would do anything to reverse his fate. He set out to hustle along with Prabhu in their service of guiding the new foreigners in the city. They earned some money from it, but Prabhu refused to share the money as he wanted to use it to marry his crush, Parvathi. Lin did not want to interfere in Prabhu’s personal pursuit and thus went on to buy as many drugs as possible despite the lack of a prescription, ID card, or medical records. Lin realized that Prabhu might be a good “partner,” but he was just like the other people in the slum. In fact, Prabhu knew that Sonam would die and was still okay with it because, in the Bombay slums, no one is bothered about other people’s lives. Lin could not blame Prabhu for this way of thinking since he had become accustomed to their perspective on life and death. However, Lin believed it was his solemn duty to fix all of these.
Who Did Finally Get Pandey’s Alliance? Why Did Khader Help Lin?
In the meantime, the underworld leaders were keeping their greedy eyes on the land of Sagar-Wada. Neither Walid nor Khader could keep quiet anymore, after Khader had murdered the land development Minister, Ruzul. The deputy minister, Pandey, was quickly approached by Walid Bhai’s men, who gave him a suitcase full of cash and bought his alliance. While Khader, too, was seeking minister’s support, he arrived a bit late. Khader sent Karla to meet Pandey to seek his assistance, but there appeared Walid Shah himself. Walid Shah treated Karla as a trivial opponent and made her feel uncomfortable with his inappropriate point of view.
When Karla returned to Khader, she told him all that had happened with Pandey and questioned the necessity of murdering Ruzul. In response, Khader stated that he could not stand betrayal of any sort. Khader was indeed a dangerous man, but he had a wicked sense of wit. He could manipulate people with his calm and composed demeanor, which we had previously seen in “Shantaram” episode 3. He was manipulating Karla, as he has always done. He told Karla to be courageous despite feeling scared. When she asked him why he pretended not to know her in front of Lin earlier, Khader proudly replied that it was Karla who needed protection, not him. That’s why he did not want anybody to assume that they knew each other. Khader comforted Karla’s heart like a father figure, without even her knowledge that he was just going to drag her into the darkness. Maybe Karla also knew that, but she was already entrapped in the game.
On the other hand, Lin was desperate to buy medicine for Sonam. He went to the cafe nearby, where he had come with Khader Khan previously. He met a waiter and told him that he needed Khader Khan to help him in his emergency. Soon, Khader approached him, which Lin had never expected. He asked Khader for his help in supplying him with medicines from the black market. When Khader heard it, his eyes changed abruptly. His initially serene demeanor suddenly gave way to a fierce beast’s gaze. He was not meant to assist Lin in such a situation. Of course, a man who did not hesitate to kill someone, how could he think about the health of a small slum dweller? However, Khader needed Lin, so he immediately laughed off his seriousness and told Lin that he would surely help him. Abdullah was taken aback by Khader’s actions after Lin left. Khader assured him that he was only allowing Lin to get desperate because only that way would he be grateful to Khader Khan.
Lin, on the other hand, had already caught a glimpse of a newspaper reporting Ruzul’s murder, but he chose not to pay any heed to it. In his mind, he might have doubted Karla on this matter, yet he decided to move ahead as it was none of his concern.
What Happened to Lisa? What Did Karla Warn Lin About?
Lisa had moved out of Karla’s house to live with her lover, Modena. She decided to quit drugs, and Modena gave her his undivided support. Modena and Lisa later joined Maurizio and a black man in a drug-selling deal. Karla strolled in, and Lisa spotted her in the interim. They were both aware of one another but chose not to speak in public. In the restroom, Karla wanted to talk to her. She requested Lisa to return to her home, but Lisa resisted. Lisa explained that she was aware of her corrupted surroundings, but she could nonetheless enjoy her life with a man who had actually loved her. She claimed that while Karla appeared rigid and calm on the outside, she was actually depressed. Karla could not oppose her as she was not lying.
Karla continued playing her part in the game even though she knew she was not happy. She knew that once she decided to step out, Khader would not spare her life. She met Lin in the slum and asked why he was giving away Karla’s money to rebuild the slum. Lin replied that he tried to compensate for the loss the slum people had to face because of him. Lin asked about Ruzul’s death, but Karla assured him that neither she nor Lin had anything to do with it. She explained everything so easily to Lin, but he still believed Karla to be mysterious. Karla did not wish any harm to Lin. She saw his thoughtful and empathetic side, but she was also aware that Khader Khan had his hunting eyes on both Lin and Sagar-Wada. Karla warned Lin in advance about the impending danger, although she never told him about her relationship with Khader. Therefore, this question remains: would Karla try to save him from Khader or just leave him to his fate to determine his own way?
‘Shantaram’ Episode 4: Ending Explained – How Did Lin Get the Medicines? Did He Forgive Ravi?
Karla’s remarks began to haunt Lin, but despite being aware of the warning signs, he still wanted to participate. His desire to explore this dirty truth of the city might not keep him away from the imminent threat. Finally, late at night, Ravi paid him a visit and apologized for his cruel behavior. Lin was always ready to forgive Ravi, so he took the cooked fish that Ravi had brought for him. The next morning, the fish caused food poisoning, leading to loose motion that tormented Lin for the rest of the day. Before he could comprehend the root cause of it, Abdullah arrived at the slum. Seeing Khader Bhai’s right hand, Abdullah, Prabhu got scared for Lin’s safety, so he had a little face-off with Abdullah. Lin intervened to stop them and went for the medicine supply with him.
Lin was brought to another “Jhoparpatti,” where Abdullah introduced him to a medicine supplier named Ruby, a woman with a disfigured face. To Lin, Ruby appeared to be a typical slum inhabitant, and so he unintentionally initiated a conversation in Hindi. Ruby responded in English, saying that she wasn’t always like this. In her previous life, she was a chartered accountant. What led her into this situation is still a mystery; perhaps upcoming episodes will shed light on it.
Ruby invited Lin to join her for tea. She handed Lin the same dish that she had been sipping tea from. Lin drank it from there without any hesitation, showing that he did not look down on any individual. Although Ruby was impressed, she declined to give medication without proper payment. Lin gave her as much as he could to buy at least some IVs and antibiotics. On their way back, Walid’s sidekick, Rafiq, tried to kill Abdullah but Lin intervened and saved Abdullah’s life. However, when Abdullah tried to kill Rafiq, Lin didn’t let him to do so. Khader Bhai was so impressed with Lin that he gave him the whole bag of medicines that Lin had demanded. Lin ultimately saved Sonam, which helped him overcome the guilt weighing heavily on him.
Lin tried to distance himself from any association with Khader Bhai, but he accidentally joined a grand scheme. Lin realized that he was craving the adventure that Khader had to offer him. He once believed that he could write his own destiny, but now he has realized that it has already been written in the filthy streets of Bombay. Ironically, he found the truth about his food poisoning, which was a revenge plot orchestrated by Ravi. He saw Ravi catching fish from the excreted water, which made Lin finally understand the reason for his upset stomach. However, instead of getting angry, he forgave Ravi because he understood the reason for his bitterness. Lin gave Ravi some time for his wound to heal. Lin knew that he could only heal the slum people’s physical injuries, but he could never heal the child’s broken heart, which had lost his mother.
Final Words
With each new episode, “Shantaram” portrays the gritty crimes of the 1980s in Bombay that tormented the life of an accidental criminal dramatically and ominously. In the quest to change his fate, Lin receives both a blessing and a curse. Abdullah had already implicated Lin in Khader’s plot, which Lin had deliberately failed to prevent. At the end of “Shantaram” episode 4, Lin expresses his curiosity about this impending peril. Thus, we anticipate that Episode 5 will show Lin joining Khader Khan in his real business, along with a darker and more intriguing turn of events. We will thus enjoy watching to see if Lin can survive all the threats and forge his own path of destiny in his life.
See More: ‘Shantaram’ Episode 5: Recap And Ending, Explained – Why Did Karla Stay Away From Lin?
