We still miss you...
I am a big movie enthusiast. I love to watch movies, so much so that some of them have had an immense impact on my life. I watch movies for many reasons like for a good story, for great ideas, for excellent music and brilliant performances. Some performances in movies are so exceptional that they stay with us for a lifetime. There are movies in which our favourite characters suffer a tragic death and leave us in sadness. It has been a long time I wanted to consolidate such a list of lovable characters. I have listed my personal favourites. I have refrained from ranking them. So, the numbers are mere serial numbers.
I think the beauty of this list lies in the way these characters have been written and portrayed by respective actors. The true strength of these characters lies in their ability to connect with the audience. These characters have been able to convince us that they are part of our lives and that they are so lovable that we would want to meet them in person.
Now, since you are reading this article I am sure you also have your own list of personal favourites, so do not forget to share your own list in the comments below.
1. Harry Potter series
Sirius Black in Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix
This is one of my favourite characters from the series and in fact, the main reason why I decided to make such a list. Black is killed by his sister Bellatrix Lestrange in front of Harry. The picture below captures the exact moment when the death spell hits Black. The first time I watched the scene, honestly, I was in no way prepared for it. It felt as if it was me who was on the receiving end of Avada Kedavra. I felt as if I had lost a dear one in my real life. I could totally relate to Harry's emotions. Sirius was not just Harry's godfather but also his extraordinary friend. Another reason why I found this death tragic is that I have watched Harry Potter and Prisoner of Azkaban (हैरीपॉटर और अज़्काबान का क़ैदी, yes, I watched it in Hindi) more than 2 dozen times. And since I had watched it in my teenage years I had a strange affection for Sirius Black's character.
I wish Ms. Rowling had more role for him in the series. Gary Oldman's portrayal of Black is terrific. Thanks for this memorable memory!
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2. Harry Potter series
Professor Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
There are Muggles and Wizards in the Harry Potter world and if you did not know, they also exist in our world. Harry Potter fans like me who have never read even a single page of the book series are called Muggle Fans (my nomenclature *wink*) and those who have read the books are called Wizard Fans (again my nomenclature *wink*). So let me get one thing straight here; we Muggles have a different worldview of the HP world, unlike Wizards, who already know what is going to happen in the next scene. So when we watch Professor Snape kill Professor Dumbledore, we immediately hate him because he has committed the most heinous crime in this world. Here we do not know how great Professor Snape is because we have not watched him say the epic and passionate 'Always' yet.
Yes, so I hated Snape because he killed Dumbledore. I was left blank at that moment because I was like, "Now who is going to save Harry?". That death feels even more tragic because Dumbledore is not able to defend himself due to his weakness. In spite of being 'the greatest wizard of the world', he could not even hold his wand properly. To add to the tragic-city of the death, Dumbledore is killed by the most trustworthy person in his life. And Harry watches all this but is not able to save Professor. The feeling of being helpless and baffled are clearly seen in Harry's eyes. He even tries to 'avenge' Professor's death but to no avail because, alas! he is using the spells of the Half-Blood Prince against the Prince himself.
PS: We Muggles realised Professor Snape's significance only after watching Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part-2 (yes, we muggles needed two parts to understand the subject matter which wizards grasped in one part itself.)
3. Kalpana in Ghajini
Yes, Asin's portrayal of Kalpana in the movie Ghajini is one of her best performances. She is that typical happy go lucky girl who likes to live in the moment. She cares for people. And it is this concern for people which gets her in trouble. The goons come to her home with the intention of killing her. She somehow tries to elude them for a while but eventually, she is caught. Sachin (Amir Khan) comes home looking for her. She comes out from the room with that smile on her face. Once he catches a glimpse of her, Sachin looks relieved for a moment but, Kalpana's red and intense eyes immediately tell him that something is wrong. She slowly and gradually approaches him and hugs him. He hugs her back but is suddenly exposed to the devastating reality. This is when all hell breaks loose and the lives of these love-birds are ripped apart in a moment. They are both lying on the floor looking into each other's eyes with a feeling of helplessness, fear and love all at the same time. And in the next second Kalpana is brutally killed and Sachin's life is totally annihilated.
I love this movie because of the intensity with which Asin and Amir have delivered this tragic scene. The scene, although very gruesome, is the key to establishing a strong bond of love between Sachin/Sanjay and Kalpana. But, what I loved, even more, is the Kaise Mujhe song played at the end of the movie. While that song is being played in the background, Kalpana is seen sitting beside Sanjay. They look at each other with a gaze of love and that is when we realise, yes, we have watched a splendid movie! Thank you, A.R.Murgadoss.
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4. Jack Dawson in Titanic
Jack and Rose are iconic characters of the Hollywood world. The popularity of these characters is timeless. Whether we have watched the movie in the 90s or just yesterday, the feeling of despair always follows the climax. This is because we never wanted Jack to leave Rose. We wanted them saved from the catastrophe, if not more. Rose is an innocent girl who is trying to find her way through the turbulent waters of her life. She is being forced to get married to a guy she barely knows. And then one sunny day she finds this artist, Jack, who manages to make up her mind against ending her life. He understands her very well and makes her realise that her true strength lies in being herself. She finds herself in a moral dilemma when she thinks she is falling for him. But, all that she is doing is merely trying to break free from the shackles of the marriage that is thrust upon her. This is the time when both of them realise that they share a bond of love and endearment. They decide that they would elope once the ship reaches its destination. And on one starry and romantic night that fateful iceberg strikes the ship and the ship’s destination is changed from New York city to the floor of the sea. The Titanic is sinking and Rose is floating on a wooden plank. Jack has grabbed her hand and is trying to hold his breath in the cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean. He assures Rose that she is not going to die, instead, he says, she is going to go home make lots of babies and die an old woman in her bed but not in that cold water. He says that winning the ticket to Titanic was the best thing that happened to him as it brought him to her. He takes a promise from Rose that she will survive and will never give up on her life. She promises him. And in the next scene, Rose is looking in the sky and humming a song (both of them still holding each other's hand by the way!) when a rescue boat, looking for survivors, passes by. Rose tries to wake Jack up. But as the fate would have it (or James Cameron would have it), Jack has gone to sleep never to wake up. Now, this is when your eyes yearn for tears- Rose leaves Jack’s hand, Jack sinks into the water, (My heart will go on is running in the background) and Rose says- I will never let go! Believe me, her eyes express the sadness and despair that has just struck her (and us). This shows the power, that love has, to beautifully transform the lives of people. A girl who was about to end her life a couple of days back, now, fights to survive, that too at such a moment when ending her life is the easiest job at her hands. This is only because she has promised a boy that she will never let go of that promise.
All hail the Hollywood legend Mr. James Cameron!
Source
5. Harry Osborn in Spiderman 3
The first ever Spiderman movie that I have ever watched is The Spiderman starring Tobey Maguire. And I belong to that league of fans who wanted another movie with the same magical cast of Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, and James Franco. But the Spiderman character was bought by Sony pictures from Marvel studios and these three could not continue. Now, coming back to the last installment of this Spiderman series, I hate Sam Raimi for killing Harry Osborn, he should not have done that. The friendship of Peter Parker and Harry Osborn had every possible feature of an iconic friendship. In the third part, towards the end, the secrecy surrounding the death of Harry’s father is finally out and both Peter and Harry himself have pressed a reset button on their friendship. After all this, they were supposed to be friends for a lifetime but Harry sacrifices his own life to save Peter. As much as I loved the chemistry between Peter and MJ, Peter and Harry, I have hated Harry’s death in the same proportion.
Source
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
I think the beauty of this list lies in the way these characters have been written and portrayed by respective actors. The true strength of these characters lies in their ability to connect with the audience. These characters have been able to convince us that they are part of our lives and that they are so lovable that we would want to meet them in person.
Now, since you are reading this article I am sure you also have your own list of personal favourites, so do not forget to share your own list in the comments below.
1. Harry Potter series
Sirius Black in Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix
This is one of my favourite characters from the series and in fact, the main reason why I decided to make such a list. Black is killed by his sister Bellatrix Lestrange in front of Harry. The picture below captures the exact moment when the death spell hits Black. The first time I watched the scene, honestly, I was in no way prepared for it. It felt as if it was me who was on the receiving end of Avada Kedavra. I felt as if I had lost a dear one in my real life. I could totally relate to Harry's emotions. Sirius was not just Harry's godfather but also his extraordinary friend. Another reason why I found this death tragic is that I have watched Harry Potter and Prisoner of Azkaban (हैरीपॉटर और अज़्काबान का क़ैदी, yes, I watched it in Hindi) more than 2 dozen times. And since I had watched it in my teenage years I had a strange affection for Sirius Black's character.
I wish Ms. Rowling had more role for him in the series. Gary Oldman's portrayal of Black is terrific. Thanks for this memorable memory!
2. Harry Potter series
Professor Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
There are Muggles and Wizards in the Harry Potter world and if you did not know, they also exist in our world. Harry Potter fans like me who have never read even a single page of the book series are called Muggle Fans (my nomenclature *wink*) and those who have read the books are called Wizard Fans (again my nomenclature *wink*). So let me get one thing straight here; we Muggles have a different worldview of the HP world, unlike Wizards, who already know what is going to happen in the next scene. So when we watch Professor Snape kill Professor Dumbledore, we immediately hate him because he has committed the most heinous crime in this world. Here we do not know how great Professor Snape is because we have not watched him say the epic and passionate 'Always' yet.
Yes, so I hated Snape because he killed Dumbledore. I was left blank at that moment because I was like, "Now who is going to save Harry?". That death feels even more tragic because Dumbledore is not able to defend himself due to his weakness. In spite of being 'the greatest wizard of the world', he could not even hold his wand properly. To add to the tragic-city of the death, Dumbledore is killed by the most trustworthy person in his life. And Harry watches all this but is not able to save Professor. The feeling of being helpless and baffled are clearly seen in Harry's eyes. He even tries to 'avenge' Professor's death but to no avail because, alas! he is using the spells of the Half-Blood Prince against the Prince himself.
PS: We Muggles realised Professor Snape's significance only after watching Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part-2 (yes, we muggles needed two parts to understand the subject matter which wizards grasped in one part itself.)
Source
3. Kalpana in Ghajini
Yes, Asin's portrayal of Kalpana in the movie Ghajini is one of her best performances. She is that typical happy go lucky girl who likes to live in the moment. She cares for people. And it is this concern for people which gets her in trouble. The goons come to her home with the intention of killing her. She somehow tries to elude them for a while but eventually, she is caught. Sachin (Amir Khan) comes home looking for her. She comes out from the room with that smile on her face. Once he catches a glimpse of her, Sachin looks relieved for a moment but, Kalpana's red and intense eyes immediately tell him that something is wrong. She slowly and gradually approaches him and hugs him. He hugs her back but is suddenly exposed to the devastating reality. This is when all hell breaks loose and the lives of these love-birds are ripped apart in a moment. They are both lying on the floor looking into each other's eyes with a feeling of helplessness, fear and love all at the same time. And in the next second Kalpana is brutally killed and Sachin's life is totally annihilated.
I love this movie because of the intensity with which Asin and Amir have delivered this tragic scene. The scene, although very gruesome, is the key to establishing a strong bond of love between Sachin/Sanjay and Kalpana. But, what I loved, even more, is the Kaise Mujhe song played at the end of the movie. While that song is being played in the background, Kalpana is seen sitting beside Sanjay. They look at each other with a gaze of love and that is when we realise, yes, we have watched a splendid movie! Thank you, A.R.Murgadoss.
Source
Source
4. Jack Dawson in Titanic
Jack and Rose are iconic characters of the Hollywood world. The popularity of these characters is timeless. Whether we have watched the movie in the 90s or just yesterday, the feeling of despair always follows the climax. This is because we never wanted Jack to leave Rose. We wanted them saved from the catastrophe, if not more. Rose is an innocent girl who is trying to find her way through the turbulent waters of her life. She is being forced to get married to a guy she barely knows. And then one sunny day she finds this artist, Jack, who manages to make up her mind against ending her life. He understands her very well and makes her realise that her true strength lies in being herself. She finds herself in a moral dilemma when she thinks she is falling for him. But, all that she is doing is merely trying to break free from the shackles of the marriage that is thrust upon her. This is the time when both of them realise that they share a bond of love and endearment. They decide that they would elope once the ship reaches its destination. And on one starry and romantic night that fateful iceberg strikes the ship and the ship’s destination is changed from New York city to the floor of the sea. The Titanic is sinking and Rose is floating on a wooden plank. Jack has grabbed her hand and is trying to hold his breath in the cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean. He assures Rose that she is not going to die, instead, he says, she is going to go home make lots of babies and die an old woman in her bed but not in that cold water. He says that winning the ticket to Titanic was the best thing that happened to him as it brought him to her. He takes a promise from Rose that she will survive and will never give up on her life. She promises him. And in the next scene, Rose is looking in the sky and humming a song (both of them still holding each other's hand by the way!) when a rescue boat, looking for survivors, passes by. Rose tries to wake Jack up. But as the fate would have it (or James Cameron would have it), Jack has gone to sleep never to wake up. Now, this is when your eyes yearn for tears- Rose leaves Jack’s hand, Jack sinks into the water, (My heart will go on is running in the background) and Rose says- I will never let go! Believe me, her eyes express the sadness and despair that has just struck her (and us). This shows the power, that love has, to beautifully transform the lives of people. A girl who was about to end her life a couple of days back, now, fights to survive, that too at such a moment when ending her life is the easiest job at her hands. This is only because she has promised a boy that she will never let go of that promise.
All hail the Hollywood legend Mr. James Cameron!
5. Harry Osborn in Spiderman 3
The first ever Spiderman movie that I have ever watched is The Spiderman starring Tobey Maguire. And I belong to that league of fans who wanted another movie with the same magical cast of Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, and James Franco. But the Spiderman character was bought by Sony pictures from Marvel studios and these three could not continue. Now, coming back to the last installment of this Spiderman series, I hate Sam Raimi for killing Harry Osborn, he should not have done that. The friendship of Peter Parker and Harry Osborn had every possible feature of an iconic friendship. In the third part, towards the end, the secrecy surrounding the death of Harry’s father is finally out and both Peter and Harry himself have pressed a reset button on their friendship. After all this, they were supposed to be friends for a lifetime but Harry sacrifices his own life to save Peter. As much as I loved the chemistry between Peter and MJ, Peter and Harry, I have hated Harry’s death in the same proportion.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Comments
One more to the list, and my personal favourite, Joker from Batman's - Dark Knight.
My list would include all the characters from F.R.I.E.N.D.S. But then, the characters from FRIENDS never died, they just stopped visiting us. Hopefully, they are still in Central Perk having coffee from those ridiculously gigantic mugs.
Great post.. very relatable. Keep up the good work!
May the force be with you. ;)