About ‘Movies based on Books’.

My last blog post was to express our family’s interest in reading and how we have been encouraging this hobby among the younger generations. Here in this post I wish to express my views on entertainment provided by books and the entertainment provided by movies based on these books.

Firstly a movie is made because the book on which it is based has an extraordinary content.  Without doubt the books and the movies are excellent entertainers. But the book has much more to tell you, about everyone and everything in minute detail with excellent description and we imagine and live amidst the characters and scenes, enjoying every bit of it, till the end. When we read a good story it gets into our heart and mind and remains there for long with fond thoughts. And in the process of reading we learn a lot, remember the narration longer and our knowledge and command over the language improves.

Movies tell the story of the novel in brief but with great actors, more colorfully, with lots of music, extravagantly and sensationally to bring about a great affect and offer excellent entertainment, winning all round appreciation. It can be enjoyed with friends and family and in a much shorter duration than reading a novel. However in a movie, the original story is not told in detail and as clearly as in the novel, the characters, their relations, interactions and the scenes are compromised, because movies cannot be made word to word as in the novels. So which are good, books or movies are a matter of interest and taste.

As for me, I would read the novel first and then watch the movie for a briefer entertainment and to judge how well it is made. And if I have watched the movie first, I would read the novel later to better understand the movie. From not so long past, I would like to mention my experience with ‘The Kite Runner’. This novel by Khaled Hosseini is extraordinary and I loved reading it. Then I saw the ‘The Kite Runner’ movie directed by Marc Forster that too is very good, with excellent kite flying scenes and scenes of Afghanistan, with the story told well but very briefly. The novel tells a bigger story, there are more characters and there is much more about all the characters and their interlinked lives, which makes the book more interesting and fascinating and all this is amiss in the movie, as in the case of most movies based on books.

However I would like to add that animation/cartoon movies made on great stories are an exception as they are a feast to the eyes and great entertainers to audience of all ages.