‘FAN’ATICAL
That instance also kind of made me hate on the world for a bit - because Dumbledore is love - and you know, how could JK Rowling do that to him?” she reminisces.
Thanks to her intense attachment to the HP series, Pragati went through a rollercoaster of emotions through the series and admits to being even more antsy while reading the Deathly Hallows just to figure out the end. “Life changed once the series ended though, that feeling where you don’t know what to do with life next. Everything from Harry-Ron-Hermione’s journey, the fights and their separation phase, The battle of Malfoy Manor, Dobby’s death (I got way too emotional here) and the final battle of Hogwarts is ingrained in my head even today. And no matter how many times I read them, the emotional response to the books is always the same even today,” she states.
When it comes to fantasy fiction on TV, there’s nothing that matches the immense fan following that Games of Thrones has. Perhaps, the greatest and biggest show of all-time, this is one series for which fans set early morning or midnight alarms to watch and sometimes, even go sleepless while waiting to know what happens next on the show. The current and final season’s (8th season) first episode received a whopping 17.4 million in viewership and every episode
had a twist and turn that kept GOT fanatics on their toes. “I’ve watched Game of Thrones since season one aired. At first, I was skeptical to give it a go as the medieval-fantasy show has never been my genre. Needless to say, this show was an exception — an unpredictable epic with deep character development. I love it when shows take their time to help you understand characters and take you through their journey. The twists in the show definitely kept me hooked, and of course it has a powerful impact on the viewer. In the initial seasons, I would simply be in disbelief — especially if it was a character I liked. I’d go as far as to wonder if the show could be carried forward without those central characters — and like most people, I’d be hoping that in every subsequent episode, the one we liked wouldn’t die! Well they didn’t stop with that, and it would pinch, yet leave me intrigued. I think now we’ve reached a point in pop culture where unpredictable deaths no longer seem shocking. The plot-rush and lack of character depth is my complaint when I think of the last three seasons. The story was clearly rushed while approaching the end and didn’t have the depth of the initial few seasons,” shares programme manager Ravi Kiran.
With the final episode of the last season garnering a mix of intense reactions, Ravi rues, “Like most fans, I’m disappointed with the finale and the season as a whole. It had the potential to be a stellar show. I do wish they’d stayed with the pace as it was, when the books were in play.”
On the small screen, shows like Arrow, The Walking Dead and The Flash have an ardent set of followers. DC Comics too has its fair share of zealous fans — from Wonder Woman to Superman and Batman, their series too have a huge following across the world. What’s interesting and heartening is each person who has followed these shows, books or movies has evolved from childhood to teens, teenage to adulthood or 30s to 40s etc while watching them. Actor Kiran Srinivas, who picks DC over Marvel reveals that he’s a huge Batman buff and also an ardent follower of The Lord Of The Rings and Planet of the Apes series. “Although I disliked both of them to begin with as the comics were better written than what was filmed back then, the Christopher Nolan’s films on Batman and the Mat Reeves-directed Planet of the Apes trilogy just blew me apart! Coming to the Lord of the Rings, I find it the best series ever.
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“I’d pick DC over Marvel Comics anyday. I’m a huge Batman buff and also a fan of and The
series. Christopher Nolan’s trilogy just blew my mind. As for the best series ever.”
I find it