Sunday, July 26, 2009



I have been waiting for this a very long time. Now, everybody who is not from Mars, or hasn't been a serial killer 12 years back and has been in solitary confinement since knows who Harry Potter is . Even my friend's grandmother knows that he is certainly not her next door potter who comes to her every diwali with diyas and all. But who is the Half- BLood Prince? More importantly , why is he here? And most importantly, why is he sharing the dais with the usual protagonist?

Well, if you have read the book, you know the answers inside out. If you have seen the movie, you might actually remember who the Half-Blood Prince is , but the rest of the questions, might sound Greek to you. Why? Well, if you have done both, you know the answer to the "Why?". I was earlier worried, that I might be providing spoilers on the movie through the post.But , I realised....spoilers..hmmm...the book is enough of a spoiler anyway. Wll, since the 3rd part, it has been the other way around; the movie has been spoiling the book. Anyways , if you haven't been able to read the book, the chances of you getting through this post are as bright as Indian team qualifying for the next world cup. Football , that is.
But, wait , don't get me wrong. The movie is quite good actualy . I have a slightly different perspective than the usual reader-watchers coz i watched the first 3 before I read them. And I believe that since part2 this installment is the one whcih stays most true to the book., To subscribe to this view, one has to agree to the fact the purpose of the sixth part is not merely to fond the true identity of Half-BLood Prince, but to discover more about Voldermort. I choose to discount parts 1& 2 as they were so short on volume that that movie scriptwriter was actually a scriptwriter then , not a mere trimmer he has been in parts since.
As expected, the movie does trims away quite a few scenes like it shows only two memories, but still manages to convey a dark look attributed to the presence of young Tom Riddle( played by the nephew of Ralph Fiennes) . The haunted look of his face really make the two memories spectaculary watchable. And at last the cave scene. I have been longing to see it on the celluloid ever sinve I read about it. It has been trimmed, but it still lived upto my expectations. More crucially in the movie, it underlines the indispensablity of Dumbledore. This feeling is omnipresent in the book as an undercurrent and has been found missing in the movie.
The acting from the grey characters like Malfoy, Snape and Bellatrix is specially good. Helena Carter as Bella, gets only a few scenes, but...phew...one can't look more evil. Umbridge can take lessons. Rest also pass muster.
It is definately worth a watch. But one strict warning, Don't watch it dubbed in anything other than english if you don't want to hear rubbish like udanchoh for apparition and ojhal tahkhana for vanishing cabinet.