New Delhi: India got her dose of magical fantasy on Wednesday night as the red carpet premiere of Harry Potter took over the PVR Priya screen.
After a long line for popcorn, the heavy 3D glasses on our eyes - we were ready to take on the horcrux hunt. The atmosphere was electric, no one wanted to miss a second. People gave up their place in the popcorn line, after waiting for quite a while, after all most reaching the rather harried cashier. Everyone was asking the next person - ''Dude...has it started?''
Parents were asking their excited kids to shut it, stories could be explained later, the missing pieces of information could be filled in on the way back home, but now that Harry, Hermione and Ron were on the screen - no one uttered a sound.
Someone in the row in front suddenly asked- ''What is a horcrux?'' If people could get up and hit him- they would. The embarrassed person in the next seat told him- ''You don’t know? Get out!''
It was as simple as that. Coming in to the hall you had to be armed with all the Potter knowledge. Seven movies worth- and seven books worth – for this eighth one was the mother of all conclusions. I don’t know how many times I snubbed the person sitting next to me. Every time he would turn gingerly to confirm some information – he was glared at through 3D glasses and told- ''Can I PLEASE explain later?''
Director David Yates did not allow the audience to get bored for even a second. There was not a moment that you could about the movie and concentrate on the cheese or the salsa. In the battle against Voldemort, earthy snacks did not even come close.
The special effects were stunning, the disappointment of the first part of The Deathly Hallows was completely taken over by this part.
The wait, the anticipation was totally worth it. The audience clapped and cheered at the deserving moments, no one asked the next person to keep it down.
It felt like a one whole big family sitting down for a movie together.
We cheered for Ron and Hermione, we cheered for Neville, we cheered for Snape and we definitely cheered for Harry. That is what the movie does to you- it grabs you by the collar and makes you pay attention. You cannot move your eyes away.
The hall was almost packed, with a seat here and there left empty by unfortunate people who could not make it in time or just were not lucky enough to score passes. The movie holds the trajectory of the narrative close to the book, if you have read the book you will know what to look out for. But what a treat - what a stunning treat.
The spells were stronger, the deaths harder to deal with and then the finale. Someone asked while walking out – ''Why Neville??'' And someone shot back – ''Why not???''
As I gingerly wiped some tears away, I cannot even begin to grasp the fact that Harry Potter the saga is over. I walked out of the hall with a feeling of losing something I have loved. Felt like breaking up. But I can just pacify myself saying that I could watch the movie again.
Thank you JK Rowling. You made the wait worth it. What a movie! I still have the applause ringing in my ears.
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