I have a confession to make. I have never seen a Harry Potter movie until today.
Sure i had heard a lot about the series of seven fantasy novels written by J K Rowling which explored the adventures of wizard Harry Potter ( Daniel Radcliffe) and his best friends Ron Weasely ( Rupert Grint ) and Hermione Granger ( Emma Watson )
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| Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson
all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The main story revolves around Harry's quest to overcome the evil dark wizard Lord Voldermort (Ralph Fiennes) , who aims to conquer the wizard world and destroy anyone who stands in his way especially Harry.
I Know i should have taken my girls to Delhi, but somehow it didn't happen. I sure kept in touch with the news though. Harry and his best friends appearing on Oprah's talk show, the transformation of Daniel, Rupert and Emma into youth icons etc. But i had never got down to seeing a movie.
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"We have never seen a HARRY POTTER movie which is indeed SAD. This one is the LAST in the series. So four of us are going to see this movie this weekend in Delhi".
The SMS may sound a bit like Hitler, but trust me, my only motive was that my family and I not be deprived of a pop-culture phenomenon.
The HT City section of HT paper carried an article on POTTERMANIA. Theme party shops were selling everything from Nerd glasses, Broom, Costume and Bubble Balloon eye. Theme parties costing Rs 20,000 were being arranged, complete with a Harry Potter Cake.
The Harry fever was at its zenith across the world:
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| Courtesy : Celebrityfolk.com |
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| courtesy: Guardian.co.uk |
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| Fans waiting at Trafalgar Square . courtesy: Guardian.co.uk
Common sense told me it was mandatory to book tickets online in advance to avoid disappointment. I tried booking on PVR website but there was an error. So i shifted to WAVE Cinemas in Noida. As i clicked on the 'Audi' button i discovered that the more than 80% of the color was blue, signifying 'Booked' seats. There was Red signifying 'Not available', a few in Black signifying 'Aisles' and just a handful in Green.
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I manged to get four tickets, albeit in row A. What the heck, it didn't matter i consoled myself. Now nothing could come between Harry Potter and me, except for the distance between Faridabad and Noida.
The movie starts with Harry and his best friends Ron and Hermione searching for Horcruxes which contains pieces of soul of Lord Voldermort. At the same time Voldermort has acquired the Elder Wand from professor Dumbledore's grave which is the first of the Deathly Hallows which bestows immense power to a Wizard.
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| Harry and Lord Voldermort courtesy : Warner Bros
The movie which is in 3 D mode comes alive through the backdrop of castles, perfect for a Fantasy world.
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It was exhilarating to watch Daniel, Rupert and Emma , whom i had only seen on TV and print media. Throughout the movie, the dialogues are scripted at the bottom so even if you haven't read the novel, you get an idea about the characters names, which are quite unusual, going with the theme of the fantasy book/movie.
Some action packed scenes include, the exciting , edgy ride inside the vault, the run through the maze of pots and metals vases which multiply at each contact, the fire chase, the exit form the vault on the fire spitting fantasy dragon bird.
Voldermort, the sinister and evil wizard looks perfect for the role with a face without nose, vampire teeth and cold eyes. His deadly companion a snake named Nagini adds to the chill his character evokes.
At times, the story line is a bit difficult to follow as there are so many characters including Harry's parents , seen in flashback. But two messages run clear through the movie. One, that the sacrifices made for loved ones, never go in vain, and secondly no matter how big and powerful Evil form may become, its ultimate fate is defeat at the hands of Goodness.
So, what is the secret behind Harry's ability to talk to snakes, read Voldermort's mind? Do Harry, Ron and Hermione manage to find the bits of Horcruxes, needed to kill Voldermort? What happens when Harry and Voldermort meet face to face? How does Harry take a final bow and make his exit from the world of Harry Potter? These are questions i leave unanswered for the reader to find out on their own when they watch the movie.
We decided to see the movie as it has achieved a cult status, although my daughters are grown some what. But if you have kids at school. showing them the movie is a wonderful incentive to make them read books, especially Harry Potter, and that too all seven of them.
J K Rowling deserves commendable credit for making children go back to reading books in this age of obsession with the virtual world and technology. So is it really Good bye? Yes and No. Yes, as there will be no more new books /movies in the series , but the Movies and books will continue to enchant generations of kids the world over. Harry, Hermione and Ron will continue to live in people's hearts for entertaining the world. And finally what do i have to say, " Hurrah we did it!".
