Who would have ever thought that the witty and hilarious character of Jack Sparrow from the Pirates of the Caribbean series was inspired from a Hindu mythological God?
Well, turns out one of the screenwriters of the Caribbean series, Ted Elliott, drew inspiration from Lord Krishna who is a well-worshipped deity in Hinduism.
Ted recently revealed that "Jack Sparrow's character in Pirates of the Caribbean is one of the most integral parts of the film franchise. The characterisation of Sparrow is based on Lord Krishna who is a major deity in Hinduism. While writing the character sketch of Jack Sparrow, we referred to the description of Lord Krishna, various shades of the Almighty, which helped us a lot in making the whole character of Jack Sparrow into existence".
That being said, are the two really similar?
Both Jack and Krishna are known for getting out of tricky situations using witty words rather than using physical force. In the film, Jack is seen wiggling himself out of the toughest of situations with only his wit. Comparing this to the Hindu mythology, Lord Krishna is also said to have used his words to get out of a pickle. According to News18, in the Vishnu Sahasranama, Lord Krishna's holds the 57th spot as someone who used wit and bravery to defeat enemies.
The two have used wit to get out of a situation but when faced with death, they have been seen re-incarnated. Like in Dead Man's Chest, in the end, Jack is left alone on the ship to give others a fighting chance to escape. The last we see of Jack is fighting the Kraken but he is alive in the next film, At World's End. Similarly, Lord Krishna is said to have ten avatars. So, when he was killed in Mahabharata, after being hit by an arrow he appears as another avatar of him later on.
Pointing out similarities, another factor that is very common to both is their addiction to alcohol and butter. Jack's dialogue 'Why is the rum gone?" is very famous. In Lord Krishna's case, he isn't an alcoholic but loves butter! He is also called as the 'makhan chor' meaning, 'butter thief'.
