Fear can make you prisoner, hope can set you free.

It is very rare when a movie can alleviate your spirits to the greatest levels of optimism. It is very rare when a movie makes you look back at your footsteps; makes you ponder over those moments which plug together and complete the jig-saw puzzle of your life. We realize how much we try to hurry up with our lives; rather than accepting, we keep expecting.

And it’s no wonder that such a movie ranks #1 in the world.

Inspired from a fictional novel written by Stephen King, “The Shawshank Redemption” spools a fantastic plot about Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins), a young successful banker who is convicted for the brutal murder of his wife and her lover. With insufficient evidence to prove his innocence, Andy is sentenced a double life-time imprisonment behind the stone walls of Shawshank. Here he meets Ellis Redding (Morgan Freeman), an inmate who has an easy way with the guards, enabling small needs of the prisoners to be smuggled into the walls of impenetrable Shawshank. Redding steadily takes a liking for Andy; for he notices something quite different from the early appearance of the man. Dufresne is someone you might completely mistake in your first impression: a character with a cold stare and minimal talk, he would seem to be unapproachable. But behind those strange eyes hid one of the most intricately knowledgeable brains in the banking industry- Andy Dufresne was an expert in finance, he knew it all- the rules, the rewards, and the loopholes.



Surprisingly, Dufresne is not the only protagonist in this charismatic drama. The movie equally revolves around other characters. Redding, who’s in for a murder committed in his early years, has spend 20 years of his life in Shawshank, when Andy arrives. Redding is one of those typical elements you’d find in almost every prison-an expert at contraband. The very nature of his talent earns him his loyalty in dollars and prisoners. 20 years is a small number to type out on the screen, but living your life within stone walls for that period is unthinkable. “Shawshank” has done a brilliant job at painting this unimaginable style of living; a prisoner’s way of life. “These prison walls are quite funny. You hate them in the beginning; then you slowly get used to them, and eventually your life becomes dependent on them.” A prisoner gets “institutionalized” by the time he starts sharing these school of thoughts. Inside, he is recognized with his responsibilities and abilities. But outside, he’s just an old con struggling for a living. And then there are inmates like Andy Dufresne. Who believe strongly in the power of good, in the power of hope. Who understands the forces of nature such as pressure and time. (Watch the movie; you’ll know what I mean.) Dufresne is one of those bright winged seagulls, who shouldn’t have been caged in the first place.



“Shawshank Redemption” has also portrayed a dark canvas of the inhuman degrees of torture subjected on its inhabitants. Simply imagining such conditions can cave the walls of security within our minds and strip us to bare nudity. And yet, inspite of all levels of physical, emotional and mental torture, there still remains a freedom which is exclusively ours. No one can ever touch it; no one can take it away from us. It’s the freedom of thought. The freedom to choose, to act. And once you make your choice, you either get busy living, or get busy dying.





(The Shawshank Redemption is rated on IMDB as the #1 movie in the world with 3, 65, 762 votes and a user rating of 9.1 as on 22nd of August, the year of 2008.)