The play, Cursed Child by JK Rowling, is almost here! With just a month to go and previews already out, the excitement is real. However, there has been outrage over the fact that a black actress, Noma Dumezweni has been cast to essay the role of one of the main characters, Hermione Granger, in the sequel to the Harry Potter series. While JK Rowling has shut down criticism, calling it racist, there are fans who say the objections come from continuity issues, since the movies starred white actress Emma Watson. Is skin colour important when essaying a role to which it isn’t central?
Those Pricey Thakur Girls author Anuja Chauhan says, “I really don’t think skin colour is relevant. I would have a problem if Hermione was suddenly not intelligent or did things uncharacteristic of her. I think people creating noise about the race, are those who have watched the movies and not read the books — and believe that Emma Watson is Hermione Granger! Someone being a particular colour should not matter, as Hermione was only described as ‘a bright witch with bushy hair’!”
She adds, “I would be okay with protests against Leonardo DiCaprio playing Rumi. But, it’s surprising that this comes from Potterheads, because we are known to be one of the most liberal and inclusive fandoms.”
20-year-old author Megha Rao from Chennai, whose books are on fantasy and romance, is a self-confessed Potter buff and says, “Hermione’s race was never stated explicitly in the books, was it? I’d love a black Hermione; I don’t think it would matter who plays the role as long as she does justice to it. Noma is actually an award-winning actress, so there must be a good enough reason for why she was picked. I’m all for it. It’s a book, and a book can be interpreted in many ways. Not every reader is going to think like the author, and a character is always going to be perceived differently by every individual.”
She goes on to say, “This is a huge leap, as a black Hermione is important to communities that rarely get opportunities. It also breaks free from mainstream audiences who consider white as a default. It’s symbolic how she is part of what the wizards look down upon as the ‘Mudblood minority’ just like certain groups have been looked down upon in our society.”
“I think it’s juvenile that people are still talking about this in the 21st century,” says Sriram Ayer founder of NalandaWay Foundation. “For fans, seeing a character who has been white in movies is a change — but for people who are making this a race, issue is unacceptable. Being white isn’t integral to her character! I, for one, am very excited to see a female or black Bond. It’s boring that the character is still white,” he laughs.
Theatre artist and Iraivi actress Pooja Devariya also agrees, “The colour of the actress doesn’t matter at all. Maybe the audience has an issue since Hermione has been white in the movies — in the same way, Tamil audiences want Rajinikanth to have an epic entry in each movie and were upset with his lukewarm entrance in Enthiran! Different people have different opinions, but racism shouldn’t be a part of this at all.”
As JK Rowling herself recently tweeted, “We found the best actress and she’s black. Bye bye, now.” Who are we to judge then?
