For most people who grew up in the 90s, and experienced the phase of waiting in line outside the bookstore to grab the next Harry Potter book, Robbie Coltrane will always remain special in our hearts as the actor who brought Hagrid to life.
It was Hagrid who safely carried Harry to Privet Drive after his parents got murdered in Godric Hollows, it was Hagrid who safely introduced Harry to the wizarding world, it was Hagrid again who safely brought Harry back to Hogwarts, in his arms, when he had died temporarily and chose to kill the Horcrux in him instead of himself, after taking Dumbledore's advice.
Although in the films and in the books, Hagrid had been treated like a supportive character, he had quite the significant role to play in this bildungsroman (a novel, film based on an orphan child who develops himself based on his personal experiences and social circumstances). In a series based on a boy's journey without his parents, Hagrid had been the companion who showed his devotion to nature, animals which had helped Harry to become way nobler as a person.
Did you know in 2006, Robbie Coltrane had also been a part of an Indian project, starring Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Nandita Das?
Provoked: A True Story
The film Provoked: A True Story had been directed by Jag Mundhra. In Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's career as an actress, the film has a strong significance, as it makes her more than a beauty queen along with other films such as Sarbjit, Chokher Bali and Raincoat to name a few.
The film had explored the story of Kiranjeet Ahluwalia (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan), a homemaker who lived in Southhall UK. An abused mother of two sons, she found it impossible to bear her husband after being physically abused for over ten years of her marriage.
Robbie Coltrane had played the role of Edward Foster, the lawyer in the Queen's counsel. He comes to aide Kiranjeet after Kiran's jail inmate Veronica enlisted her brother Edward, to realise the importance of Kiran's fight in her case where she had killed the husband after years and years of being abused by him and now she only demanded a life back to normalcy with her two sons. It was in jail, where Kiranjeet found a new freedom, a new life that helped her develop into a strong woman.
