“Good” & “Evil” – Same Old Jugal Bandi

Lord of the Rings, an epic of our times, as they say. I recently saw Lord of the Rings Trilogy (yes, you guessed it right; I saw it for the first time. I never got a chance to read the book or watch the movie and I must admit, I have still not read the book), and I was really impressed. I think the series has secured its place in my list of what we call “The all time favourite movies.” There are many reasons why I liked the movie, but of all those reason, the cinematography and direction clearly stands out. The angles used by the director in some of the scenes are amazing. But outline of the story is the same old – “Good” defeats “Evil”. There are so many stories surround this concept and even epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata (epics from India) as based on the same concept. Today, when I come across these two epics and Lord of the Rings trilogy, I see the so many commonalities. Costumes are one of the things which are so unique to their time. The arms and weapons were also carefully crafted and interesting.

But the most interesting of them all is this one thing where many characters of the stories have supernatural powers and they can do some kind of magic. Now when I say magic, I do not mean magic by a magician, but powers like that of Gandalf the Grey in Lord of the Rings or by Krishna in Mahabharata. Also, when I was watching Lord of the Rings, I felt the feel of the movie and some of characters were much like Harry Potter series. I am a huge Harry Potter Fan, but it was interesting to see how the movies stood apart with their similarities.

All said and done, it is the “good”, the “right” which wins in the end, always? According to me, both the “Good” and the “Evil” are within oneself. It’s your decision whom you want to be, even in the most difficult moments in your life. Toby of Lord of the Rings showed signs of both “Good” & “Evil” and so did Michael Jackson. A legend, Michael Jackson, who is no longer with us, was also the one who prove my point right. He was one of the most amazing musicians, but at the same time was haunted with controversies. Do you think you also share the same feeling?

If you do, can you admit?

I think I won’t pass the litmus test for “Good”. There are many incidences when I would have thought or acted evil. Be it a mean thing like uprooting a complex plant to pot it at my room, or bat and ball first in the game of cricket when I was little or push a man so that I could get in the crowded Mumbai local train. All said and done, whatever you might think, I feel that it’s hard to be “Good”. Even if you claim to be 100% “Good”, ask your conscious, and you will know the truth.