Same old, Same Old

Yesterday I finally managed to see Kung Fu Panda... And needless to say I loved it! Don't worry this is not another done-to-death review of that movie. it's about something else. (it gets interesting, i promise!) anyway, so as i was saying yesterday I watched Kung Fu Panda. in the intermission, i saw the theatrical preview of Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows (part two) and I would not lie to you, I got goosebumps! Partly because it is Harry Potter (I mean come on who doesn't love that boy wizard. and if you are among those few who don't, well... shame on you!), partly because of the amazing special effects and mainly because it is the last installment of the series. After this, there will be no more books, no more movies... it is quite literally The End. Anyway, no... this post is also not about HP only. it's about what connects both of them and believe me there is a connection... and that, my friend, is their story... their plot.

Let's take a quick recap, shall we? okay... let me make it a little easier with bullet points -

• There is an evil king / lord (Lord Shen in KGP and Voldemort in HP) who wants to rule the world. 
• Both of them listen to a probhecy (uttered by the female goat (with a beard!) in KGP and the slightly flaky Professor Trelawny in HP)
• Both the evil kings set out to kill all the new-born kids that fit the guidelines that has been told to them in the prophecy. (Lord Shen kills the white and black pandas and voldemort kills potter and their baby)
• now there is slight variation - in KGP, while the peacock is content that he has killed every panda and is therefore immortal, our voldy is proved wrong. he himself is destroyed...well, almost destroyed.
• However, The-One-who-will-be-the-death-of-these-evil-lords is saved by their respective parents who, themselves, die in the process. (I know Papa panda survives but that's irrelevant for the movie we are talking about!)
• Years Pass By... The evil kings gains power and plot to rule the world.
• The not-so-little One returns and kills the evil king / lord.
• Everyone is happy and there is merry-making
• The End.

So, you see with slight variations... these stories are essentially same. they even have the same moral - Good wins over Evil... Always. Also, they both have such unlikely heroes paired opposite such antagonists- The bulky but cute Panda against the shrewd and cruel with a metal-and-fire-breathing-weapon owning peacock in KGP and HP has the oh-so-very-young-not-even-an-adult boy wizard pitted against the greatest wizard of all time! (after Dumbledore of course!)

But, that is not all fascinated me about these movies... there was another thing, read on -

• There is an evil king who wants to rule the world. 
• He hears a prophecy describing the boy who will kill him.
• He, not only kills the babies of his sister but sets out to kill all the new-born kids that fit the guidelines that has been told to him in the prophecy.
• He is content that he has killed anyone who could have defeated him and is therefore immortal.
• However, The One who will be the death of him is saved by his parents and sent to live somewhere else.
• Years Pass By... 
• The not-so-little One returns and kills the evil king.
• Everyone is happy and there is merry-making
• The End.

I am sure everyone is well-acquainted with this story / fable... it is the life story of our very own Lord Krishna! what surprises me though is that we, Indians, who are all ready to berate the Indian Film Industry for 'lifting' ideas, plagiarizing, and / or copying the Hollywood movies... have not said a single thing about this similarity! I am not saying I agree with the Hindi movie industry and their ways of being inspired by a certain Hollywood movie... i don't. In fact I believe, they need to be told that there is a difference between being inspired and copying something scene-by-scene! but still... I was amazed. Weren't you...?