It took me a long time and some hard lessons
to learn what I know about love, fate, and chasing redemption.
That story saw me beaten, loved, befriended, and chained
on three continents.
But it started with a simple choice,
escape or die.
Back in here at one o'clock, you bludgers.
Not quarter past after a smoke. You hear me?
Yeah, yeah. -I know.
Ooh, here he comes. -Hello, doggy.
You fucking dog!
You're in trouble now, mate. -Dead man!
You're gonna get yours, dog.
You're a dead man.
They let Barnes out of the slot.
I know. I just saw him. I thought he had another month to do.
He's got friends in high places, hasn't he?
I'm not ready.
Dale, would you just forget about escaping?
Tell that bloody cop what he wants to know.
And then what? I'm not a dog, Ned.
Well, every fucking convict out there already thinks that you are.
Shit, Barnes, he almost killed you last time, didn't he?
What, you think he's just gonna not finish the job?
Fuck it. I'm going now. -You're what?
Dale! What about me?
You gotta take me with you.
Dale. Dale!
It's nearly one o'clock. It's never gonna work with these things.
Dale, we've gotta go back.
Dale, listen to me!
We can get back onto the wing before the next count.
There's a buzz saw downstairs.
No. They'll know it was missing. -Or they won't.
Well, they'll bloody well hear it, won't they?
We'll wait until the work crew come back.
It won't work. -It will work.
Because they'd never think a convict would be stupid enough to use a power saw
to escape over the front wall.
And they'd be bloody well right. Fuck this, man. We have to go back.
Mate, I can't go back.
Come on. -You four.
We need to make a start
and then bring those upstairs, through into the back.
Fuck it!
Fuck.
Stay tight. They can't see us from here.
Okay.
How high is it?
Thirty, 40 feet, maybe. -Uh-huh.
We could bloody break our legs.
Move. -Dale, I'm scared of heights.
You're gonna be fine, mate.
You know what? You go, all right? I'm gonna go back, but you go.
For fuck's sake. Calm down. -Just let me go. I can't fucking do this.
You can't go back. 'Cause then they're gonna know I'm gone.
Yeah-- -Hey, yeah. Mate, you're going first.
Fuck.
In that moment, I was waiting for the rifle shot.
I didn't dare think I might be free.
The cops been here?
No.
Where did you go before coming here?
I didn't.
Not to your mother?
That's the first place they'd be waiting.
I was the next person you thought of. Why?
I don't know.
I didn't give it much thought. I just jumped the wall and got away.
I didn't have much of a plan beyond that.
Well, I'm sure you have friends who can be much more use in your current situation.
Practically, I mean, to a fugitive.
You're not my student anymore, Dale.
And I'm not in the business of helping escaped convicts.
Sir, I had to escape.
They were gonna kill me in there. I really didn't have a choice.
Choice is all you have.
That's easy to say.
I mean, I can't go back to college. I can't be a paramedic.
There's not much left.
I was so proud
of getting out of where I came from,
of how proud my mum was...
proud of what you saw in me.
And now look at me.
I'm a failed student, a failed son...
a failed criminal, failed addict.
You're better than all those things.
No.
No, I know what I did...
what I need to pay for.
Dying in prison wasn't gonna make it right.
You haven't escaped anything unless you go on to something, so...
what do you want to be?
I wanna be the man I was gonna be before all of this.
You can't. Not here. Not anymore.
Then I have to leave.
Why?
Because I know who you really are.
And I think you came here to have someone remind you of it.
No more guns, Dale.
No more armed robberies or heroin.
Don't you make me into a fool.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Bombay.
While opening the overhead compartments...
Go. Go on. -...please take care.
The first thing I noticed was the smell.
In that first Bombay minute, I didn't recognize it.
But I do now. It was the smell of hope.
Next. -Ladies and gentlemen,
welcome to Bombay International Airport...
But standing there with another man's name and fake passport,
hope and fear felt much the same.
Good morning, sir!
I am number one guide in Bombay.
I know everything there is to know about my golden city.
You are in need of assistance? I can show you everything.
Hey-- Thank you, but no. -Sir, let me assist you, sir.
Yes, sir.
But forgive me, sir, this was only a one-time no, huh?
And here in my India, a one-time no is not a true no.
Yeah? So what's a true no?
Only after three noes, it is a true no.
Please, sir, allow me to show you cheap, clean hotel.
And after, you decide what to pay.
What if I decide to pay nothing?
Then that is your choice, sir.
But I don't believe it's a choice you'll be making.
I am number one guide in Bombay.
Number one pain in the arse.
Yes, sir. Very big, sir. Everyone agrees. You are knowing me too well.
You want to see our merch? -No.
Sir.
Myself, Prabhu.
Lindsay.
Lin-see. -Lindsay.
Lin-see. Sir, don't mind, huh?
But... this is a not-so-good name.
No. No, thank you. -No?
It is too long and squeaky for how Indian people speak.
Okay. -I think short name, short name.
That's-- -"Lin" is better.
Yeah, no problem. -You do not object? I can call you Lin?
Lin's fine. -Very good.
Also, it has a very lucky meaning.
Oh, yeah? What's that? -"Great penis."
Great penis?
It is not meaning this exactly, but it is sounding like ling,
and that is meaning, "great big penis."
Watch out. -No, no, no.
I'm telling you,
it is full power name, too lucky name.
Everyone will love this name when they hear it. You'll see.
Okay, you win.
Show me a hotel.
Sir, come, sir.
You like?
I like.
Where are you coming from?
New Zealand.
You studied philosophy?
How's that working for you?
That why we're here, to debate philosophy?
What, you think you're too clever for me, do you, Dale?
I'm just a dumb policeman.
But years of experience has given me a philosophy
based on, you know, empiric research
that, just like day follows night, every man succumbs to his nature,
even a smart boy like you.
You think your mother's proud?
I was watching her in the courtroom, blaming herself.
Well, you broke her heart. -Don't talk about her.
You know why you are worse than all the scumbags in here?
Because you had the chance to be different.
All the advantages she worked so hard to give you, and yet here you are.
And a good man is dead.
Who killed Officer Floris?
Give me the name.
Come on, mate.
I can't remember.
You will.
Wake up, Linbaba! I have so much to show you.
I charge 100 rupees a day.
For this, I will show you everything.
Tourist pay for taxi.
Should we take this white motherfucker the long way round?
Chai also.
I pay?
How long has this motherfucker been in town?
What is this "maderchod"?
"Motherfucker."
Very good curse, Linbaba. Everyone is using it.
"Bhenchod" also. Sisterfucker.
Sisterfucker?
Bloody hell!
Is he fucking mad?
And if we stop for lunch...
How much do you charge this white motherfucker?
Who are you calling "motherfucker"?
I was a wanted man with a price on my head,
on the run with no home and no country.
But for now, I was free.
Every day on the run is your whole life.
And there's hope and excitement in the new.
I don't really need any fabric.
You know, I'll come back maybe tomorrow. Tomorrow. Tomorrow.
You're going to come back here. -Thank you.
Look out!
You're lucky I was here.
Maybe you're my guardian angel.
No. Definitely not.
There's too much devil in me for that.
How much devil are we talking? -Hey, Karla! Come on.
If you come to Reynaldo's sometime, maybe you'll get to find out.
Karla!
Who is this? -You made a new friend?
You found it then. I'm Karla Saaranen.
Lindsay Ford. People call me Lin.
They do?
Yeah, I'm aware of the whole "great penis" thing.
Just "penis," no "great."
Just means, you know, everyday, average, kind of...
All right.
Beware her riddles and her seductions, young man.
Didier Levy. -Lindsay Ford.
Were you leaving? -Yeah? Just got here.
Then why on earth are we standing?
Come. Join us.
You can stand to eat a meal if you must.
You can stand to make love if you're able, but it's impossible to stand and drink.
It's the act of a barbarian,
an animal at the watering hole.
Whiskey...
The same.
Reynaldo's was an unofficial free zone,
scrupulously ignored by the local police.
Didier was a permanent fixture,
putting together buyers and sellers of anything that could earn him a commission.
But strict rules apply to all the business conducted there.
Deals for drugs and contraband were openly transacted at the tables,
but these agreements could only be sealed on the pavement outside.
Hookers, dealers, gamblers and gangsters.
Men who might kill each other any day and knew it.
But, in Reynaldo's, no blood was ever spilt.
Dangerous man, that one. Rafiq.
He used to run a black market in books.
Books? -Passports.
Rafiq is bitter about losing his book business.
Men were killed.
What about that guy? -The victor.
Abdullah Taheri.
He works for Abdel Khader Khan, one of the great crime lords of the city.
Didier, you talk too much.
What, are you expecting many serious injuries here in Bombay,
huh, Linbaba?
Force of habit. I was an ambo back home.
Ambo? -I drove an ambulance.
Better we pretend you're a doctor.
We could be making so much money like this.
Many patients I could bring you for a small commission.
Better we don't mention it at all.
Very cool, these sunglasses. Like Amitabh in Trishul.
Don't do that.
It's style, boss.
Do you wanna swap?
But-- In all honesty, these are cheap and not so good.
Do you want them or not?
Why you do this?
Because you're my mate.
What? -I walked here barefoot
'cause a guy came in my shoes.
He looked totally straight, then I went into the bathroom.
When I came out, he was there with his cock in his hands,
splashing his junk in my shoes.
Oh, my God.
Ugh, Lisa.
I liked those shoes.
Poor darling. -How do I wear them now?
Lisa was an old friend of Karla's.
Somehow sad and sexy as hell all at the same time.
Crazy people love me.
No, they pay to love you. That's different.
Have I told you to get fucked yet, Didier?
No, but I forgive you for the lapse.
Between us, Lisa, darling, such things are always implied and understood.
You should do an interview, Lisa. Anonymous, of course.
Yes. -People will be fascinated by your story.
They will be fascinated by the man who came in her shoes?
Yeah. -Who would read this, Kavvie?
Vikram Khanna was a Bollywood stuntman.
His sister Kavita was a journalist.
Smart and ambitious and eager to make her mark.
What brings you to Bombay, Lin?
Tell her nothing, Lin.
In Bombay, everyone's story is their own to keep,
which drives Kavvie crazy.
Arre, that's true. That's true.
Maurizio.
Wherever Lisa went, her pimps Maurizio and Modena
were never far away. -This is Lin. He's from New Zealand.
Lin, Maurizio and Modena.
Lin.
Means "prick" in Hindi, right?
He looks like a prick to me.
It takes a prick to know one.
My grandmother was from Padova.
Wow!
Any other languages we should know about, just to avoid further embarrassment?
I swear pretty good in Marathi and Hindi these days.
I can even speak fluent American if the occasion demands.
It's pretty good. Do some more.
"Well, I'm not asking you to forgive me.
I'll never understand or forgive myself.
And if a bullet gets me, so help me, I'll laugh at myself for being an idiot.
But there's one thing I do know. That is that I love you, Scarlett."
Wow.
Arre, do Clint Eastwood. Can you? -Yeah. Yeah.
"Well, you gotta ask yourself one question.
'Do I feel lucky?'
Well, do you, punk?"
What is-- -It's Dirty Harry.
Is that a Western? -You don't know Dirty Harry?
Dirty Harry! You don't know Dirty Harry?
Is that Clint? If it's not a Western, I'm not seeing it.
You should be an actor or something, Lin.
And we should have dinner sometime.
You can talk American to me all night. I'd like that.
Bye, bye, bye.
Ciao, Maurizio. -Ciao.
Nice, nice. Ciao, Maurizio. -Bye.
He's angry, man. -He's like--
He didn't look happy, yaar. -I think you embarrassed him good.
Those first few weeks, I watched all of the seekers come and then leave,
heading for the "real India,"
seeking enlightenment and solitude and self-contemplation.
But I'd had my share of that forced on me.
Instead, Bombay felt exhilaratingly free,
a place where everyone started new.
And I responded to that with all my heart.
You should get out of Bombay, Lin.
This is the place they were thinking about when they invented the word "the pits."
You should go to Varanasi or Rajasthan.
I don't know. I like it here.
And perhaps Bombay offers our Lin things he won't find anywhere else.
N'est-ce pas?
Can you give this to Karla for me?
Tell her I said not to worry. I'm a big girl.
Ciao, Didier. Lin. -Maurizio.
Andiamo. We don't want to keep Madame Zhou waiting.
What was that all about?
In matters of food, I am French.
In matters of love, I am Italian.
But in matters of business, I am Swiss,
strictly neutral, especially with other people's business.
And I advise you to be the same.
Now, if you'll excuse me,
I see a man who might be of great consequence to my fortunes.
Bonne chance, Lin.
Something I said? -No, he's just got business to attend to.
Looked like your meeting went well? -It did, actually. Very well.
You just missed Lisa. She gave me something for you.
Walk with me?
I like that you haven't asked what this is for.
None of my business.
Yet here you are. How come?
Lisa asked. I like her.
Well, Lisa would spend all her money on dope if I let her.
I told her she needs to save some in case she ever needs it.
I hold it for her.
"Fuck you money." -Exactly.
She'll never use it.
Even more than the heroin, Lisa needs to feel looked after,
even if it's by men like Maurizio who get her into trouble.
Maybe she'll surprise you one day.
I doubt it. She is what she is.
You don't think people can change?
They have to want to.
I think life's like a crowded lifeboat.
Maybe you throw out your pride to stay afloat,
maybe your self-respect and your independence.
And then, you start throwing people out,
friends, everyone you used to know, and it's still not enough.
The boat is still sinking, and you're going down with it.
That's Lisa. She'll never get out of the boat.
You're a good listener.
That's dangerous because it's so hard to resist.
Being listened to--
really listened to--
it's rare.
Makes a person feel special.
Okay, now you're taking this good-listener thing a little too far.
What do you do here in Bombay?
For a while, I worked as a translator...
...for business interests from the West and here in Bombay.
And then I realized if I was the one making the deals happen,
why not make them happen myself.
Bombay is changing fast. There's a lot of money to be made here.
Is money what you want?
What I want is to be master of my own destiny.
Money gives you that freedom.
Have I disappointed you, Lin?
No. No, not at all.
I think freedom is all you can ask for, however you find it.
What does your freedom look like?
To be able to choose where to be, what to do...
with who.
Then I'm honored.
This is me.
I'm sorry to have kept you so late.
You should grab a taxi. I'll pay.
I'll walk. Good way to get to know the city.
You sure?
Then thank you, for this and for walking with me.
I enjoyed it.
Yeah, me too.
Fuck.
Stop right there!
Come here. -Hey!
Where are you going?
Nowhere. Just a tourist. I got a little bit turned around.
Hey, it's past curfew.
There's a curfew?
Show us your papers.
Show your passport.
Look, breaking curfew, very bad.
I think you should go to jail. -Come--
Hey! Would you like to go to jail, gora?
No.
I think you would not like to go to jail at all, Mr...
Listen, I'm leaving Bombay.
It's time I moved on.
Where?
I don't know. Goa maybe? Varanasi?
When? -Tomorrow. This'll be our last day.
Yeah, yeah. These places all the goras are going to, I don't think you'll like.
Can't stay here forever. -No, I know this.
But you should go to a real Indian village, na?
Listen.
I'm listening.
If you are wanting, I could take some time from my schedule
and take you to my village.
I've never offered to take a gora before, but you are my good friend.
How far is it?
One train, two bus rides. It is beautiful there.
You'll come, na?
I would be honored.
And I will charge same as Bombay only, huh?
One hundred rupees a day.
I assume I'm buying the train tickets?
Hey, very generous of you to offer, Lin. I accept.
Who is it? -Karla.
Laundry day?
Yep.
I'm leaving town.
Were you gonna say goodbye?
Yeah, I was gonna come by Reynaldo's tonight.
Come in.
These are quite something.
Yeah. Tough paper round.
What's going on?
I was hoping you'd maybe help me with something.
Okay.
Lisa's in a really bad situation.
Maurizio convinced her to work in a brothel called the Palace.
It isn't good. It caters for all tastes.
And Madame Zhou, the woman who runs the place, is pretty scary.
What about Maurizio?
Maurizio doesn't give a shit about anyone but himself.
Parker was coming with me to demand Lisa's release as an American citizen.
Madame Zhou is powerful, but does not want trouble with the American Embassy.
Sounds like a good plan.
It was, until Parker left town.
I can't stand the idea of Lisa being prisoner in that place.
And then I thought of you doing your accents the other day.
Lisa said you were pretty good.
And you thought I could pretend to be this guy?
Yeah.
I-- Look, Karla, I'm sorry, but... I can't.
You could.
I mean, you're not just some tourist out to see the world, Lin,
or I wouldn't be here.
Maybe that's why I can't get involved.
Everyone here is running away from something.
Yeah, I know. And I plan to keep right on going.
It doesn't work. Trust me. You can be free of anything but yourself.
You don't know anything about me.
But I thought there was something worth knowing.
Guess I was wrong.
One way or another, you're gonna say the words.
So let's just get to it, huh?
Who pulled the trigger?
I'm not a dog.
I'm here to be punished for what I did.
No. Doesn't fucking work like that.
You don't get to feel better.
Punishment is punishment. Pain is pain.
Fuck!
This isn't a path to a better place, kid.
This is all you've got coming.
There's no redemption for the likes of you.
Don't you knock? Even just once?
We must go and collect our train tickets for tomorrow now.
This way, no last-minute problems.
Also, we must buy gifts for everyone in my village.
Everyone?
Help me! Help me!
Call an ambulance!
I'm gonna go get some help.
This is not our business, Lin. Let's go. Lin!
Please. Help me. -Let me see. Let me see.
When was the last time he shot? -He's dying!
When was the last time? -I don't know.
Give me some room. -Somebody call the police.
Lin, this is not our problem. It is very bad business.
When did he last shoot? -It is best we are not involved!
Lin, let's go! -An hour? I don't know.
Lin, the police are coming!
We have to go! They'll arrest us all! -Please. Please!
Chalo! Chalo. Down the stairs. -Please! Don't go! He's dead!
No! Come back! Come back!
You know, I could've saved him.
I've treated overdoses before.
Where are you taking him?
I don't know, Linbaba. He was looking pretty dead to me.
I could have fucking tried.
It's nothing to do with me.
It's better not to get involved.
You have to come with us now. -I don't wanna come with you.
What's the point, Prabhu,
being here, of any of it, if all I am is scared?
What is it that you are scared of, Lin?
I gotta do something.
Hey, Lin, we are leaving tomorrow early, yaar.
Look, go get the train tickets.
I'll be back here tomorrow. We'll leave as planned.
Right now, I gotta be somewhere.
Who is it? -It's me. Lin.
I'll do it. -What?
Lisa.
If we can go tonight, I'll do it.
Either way, I'm leaving Bombay first thing tomorrow morning.
What changed?
Guess I need to be running towards something, not away from it.
Come here.
Choose something smart.
You've got a lot of men's clothes.
The last two guys who lived here left suddenly.
And didn't take their gear?
One of them was breaking the law. He had to leave in a hurry.
I'll leave you to it.
Fits you well.
So what happened to the other guy who lived here?
He died.
Whose suit is this? The bad guy, or the dead guy?
I bought it for Ahmed to be buried in. In the end, we didn't use it.
Fuck me, Karla.
Don't tell me you're superstitious. A man like you?
What does that mean? A man like me?
I don't know. Isn't that the point?
Who do you report to?
Counselor for Political Affairs, Arlen Hayes.
Your hometown?
Lincoln, Nebraska.
The Deputy Chief of Mission?
Donald-- Donald Gable.
Rumor is, Zhou is the former mistress of a KGB officer.
But people say a lot of weird stuff about her.
Bottom line, she is smart, vindictive and dangerous.
Lisa wouldn't be the first girl to disappear from the Palace.
How do you know so much about her?
I get paid to make deals happen. Some of them happened here.
Fuck me.
Ram ram, Miss Karla.
Padma.
Sir, if you please, your business card.
Mr. Parker. Karla knows the way.
Ready?
Is this your American?
Gilbert Parker, with the American Embassy.
This is not an official visit. At least not this time, anyway.
You are here doing a favor? -Yes.
For you. -I don't think so.
Are you in love, Mr. Parker?
What? -I fear you are in love with our Karla.
Is that how she got you to do this little job of work for her?
I'm here because I was told an American citizen is being held against her will.
Don't think for a minute that Karla will ever love you in return.
I tell you this, Mr. Parker, as my favor to you.
Duly noted. Now, where's Lisa Carter?
Lisa is where she is happy to be.
Well, then bring her out and let her tell me that herself.
I don't think so.
Let's go. This is a waste of time.
Karla.
Your business is with me, not her.
You don't look or talk much like a diplomat.
No. No, I work out of the embassy.
Nobody said I was a diplomat.
My department tends to be a little more hands-on.
Parker.
So you should get me Lisa Carter.
Because if you fuck with me for one minute longer,
I will have agents camped on your doorstep,
taking photographs of anyone coming in or out.
And I'll make it clear to the authorities here in Bombay
that the Palace and the US government are now at war.
Quite the dog you bring in here on a leash, Karla.
Is this about Ahmed and Christina?
Nothing you do will change the fact they are gone.
If I walk out of here alone, there's no going back.
All right.
I agree to your terms, Mr. Parker.
You can take Lisa with you.
I just wonder if Karla will keep her end of whatever bargain you made.
She's really letting me go?
Mr. Parker here and Madame Zhou came to an agreement.
Then I guess I should be thanking Mr. Parker.
Let's get the fuck out of here before she changes her mind.
What the hell were you thinking, going after her like that?
You wanted her out, she's out.
I wasn't gonna leave her behind.
I need a fix, Karla.
Zhou cut me off unless I told you I wanted to stay.
But I knew once you got my message, you'd come running.
Come here.
I'm ready.
I'll quit.
I just have to level off.
Lisa. Give me the name.
Give me the name.
Rujul.
The man I saw was Rujul Aadekar.
It's gonna be okay.
Wait!
Lin, stop! Come on!
Please.
Why? So you can feed me more bullshit about Madame Zhou
and whatever history you and her have got?
You know, I heard her say that dead guy's name, Ahmed,
the guy whose suit I was wearing.
I didn't sign up to feed anyone's habit. -There's more if you want it.
Fuck you.
You know, I heard Lisa in there.
You got her out so she could give you some name.
Wasn't to rescue her.
And I wonder what you're so guilty about that playing the hero was this important.
So this was all just some shit you fed me 'cause you knew I'd bite?
We all have secrets, Lin.
I don't wanna know yours because I have no intention of telling you mine.
But you're right. I got Lisa out for my own reasons.
But that doesn't change the good you did.
Don't confuse the two.
I hope you find what you need.
Fuck!
Police! Run!
I felt like I'd been dropped straight into deep, dark water.
Everything exploding around me.
I didn't know then how far the ripples from that night would spread
into the future...
I am number one guide in Bombay. I know everything there is to know...
...touching everyone, friends and enemies...
changing everyone's lives forever.