Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, the newest film in the Harry Potter franchise, has a scene where Harry and Hermione, on the run from the dark forces, share a dance as a song crackles from the radio. The scene is significant because it was never in the book and the film’s scriptwriter Steve Kloves had to “fight for it with the Potter brain trust that includes (JK) Rowling.”
Six movies old, the Harry Potterseries heads the list of the highest grossing film franchises of all time. Given the films it has beaten to get there — 22 James Bond films, sevenStar Wars films, seven Batman films — and with no other current franchises earnings anywhere close to that of the Potter films, the booty will only grow larger with the Deathly Hallows.
The new addition by Kloves — he is expecting widespread criticism for his little ‘input’ to the film — is hardly likely however to put off the Potter fans. After all, the series has seen four different directors, each with his own style, which led to apparent continuity problems in the treatment. But the films’ popularity refuses to recede.
“It’s quite simple — the film’s ‘magic’ appeals to almost everyone. All of us want to believe magic is possible; you are fascinated by it as a child and wish it could solve all your problems when you grow up,” says film writer Indu Mirani.
Filmmaker Sanjay Gupta concurs. “We have all grown up on fables and tales about magicians, and as such the film has a universal appeal,” says Gupta, adding that his wife being such an ardent fan leaves him with no choice but to see the films a couple of times over.
But even as the books provided fodder to a factory of film wizards who used them to fuel as many as eight Potter films for a mass audience, not everyone is convinced. “The Potter films plod on forever,” says filmmaker Farah Khan. “Somehow, the magic of the books never translated to the screen for me,” says Khan, adding however that she prefers the Potter films to “that Twilight series, which put me to sleep”.
Tarun Mansukhani, director of Dostana, says he found it difficult to keep track of the story over the various parts, especially since he hadn’t read the books. “The Lord Of The Rings, for example, may be divided in parts too, but every part has an end that leaves you satiated. I don’t see the point of watching a plot unfold over an entire decade and sit through eight films to know how a story ends,” says Mansukhani, adding: “And why watch an ugly-looking Voldemort over and over?”
Mansukhani’s comments may provoke strong reactions from die-hard Potter fans, but even with the pots of money the film has earned, true blue fans have sometimes found the screen versions falling short. Pubali Chaudhuri, screenplay writer of Rock On!!, couldn’t figure out why beloved characters from the books were being portrayed differently in the movies. “My idea of Professor Dumbledore and Hagrid didn’t match what I saw on screen,” says Chaudhuri. “The good thing though is that the kids were cast quite well.”
She says taking on the job of adapting the Potter books to a film screenplay could be a nightmare for any scriptwriter: “The sheer volume of material can be intimidating. There’s so much to take in from the books that when you watch it all on screen it can get overwhelming. Do I follow the story or make notes of how so many of the aspects appear on screen? Also, the films have not retained the psychological depth of the books,” says Chaudhuri, adding that despite this, the makers have managed to make the series a “spectacle.”
The Deathly Hallows, parts I and II, promise to be a bigger spectacle than any of the earlier Potter films. With a budget equalling that of the sixth part,Half Blood Prince ($250 million), Harry’s ultimate face-off with his nemesis Voldemort promises to set new records at the box office.
“The seventh movie seems gloomier, more sinister than the earlier parts, something that appeals to me,” says Gupta. “The sixth part, which was very dark, did well at the box office. Clearly, you don’t have to keep the films feel-good to bring in audiences,” he says.
But Kloves is keeping his fingers crossed. After all, like he says, “If people like a Harry Potter movie, it’s because of the book. But if they don’t, then it’s my fault.”
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