Are Dumbledore’s shoes too large to be filled by Casual Vacancy?

For all the Harry Potter and JK Rowling fans out there, the latest scoop is that Michael Gambon (the actor who portrayed Albus Dumbledore, movie 3 onwards) has been roped in to play parish council leader Howard Mollison in BBC/HBO adaptation of JKR’s The Casual Vacancy.

Gambon, no doubt, is a prolific actor and his presence in the adaptation is quite just. Besides, he has no dearth of his own army of fans (remember Dumbledore’s Army). So, quite naturally, many people who were not intending to watch this miniseries may now feel compelled to give it a try.

Not that The Casual Vacancy is a bad book. It has caressed the line of bestsellers and has received its share of positive reviews too (though some readers and critics have also left behind scathing remarks). But frankly speaking, TCV is just another book out of the thousands which hit the shelf each year. That hallow of infallibility that encased Harry Potter series is just not there.

So, this brings us to the question- “Are Dumbledore’s shoes too big to be filled by a parish leader in a series which is not even a shadow of the adrenaline-pumping Harry Potter?”

In a way, Gambon’s position is pretty much like Rowling herself. The writer from Edinburgh touched the peak right with her debut book. It’s only going to be a downhill journey from here.

Image source: Google images

I don’t see JKR repeating the vociferous success she achieved with her Hogwarts series of books. And it can safely be surmised that Gambon’s onscreen roles shall never touch the same altitude of meteoric recognition he attained while playing the Hogwarts professor…… unless, of course, Rowling pens her 8^th. But then that’s wishful thinking by the wistful heart of a casual writer who also happens to be incurably in love with Harry Potter books.

-Ritesh Agarwal

Email: ritzy182000@gmail.com

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