yes I just saw the movie and there are just too many things I loved about it that I couldn't wait to blog (brag :P) about it
Its a heart-rending story of how one visionary...a messiah so to say stitches together the pieces of a country broken by apartheid, fear and violence. How one man's devotion to his people turns a anarchic region into one of the greatest nations of modern times.
Its sooo hard to believe that South Africa (officially the Republic of South Africa..and rightly so) went through such troubled times just about 16-17 years ago. Today it has been host to so many international sporting events...a true warrior for peace and global harmony.
And could this happen without the vision of one man...Nelson Mandela
The movie explicitly shows how he takes over bureaucracy and a widespread sense of vengeance to show light to the people...to unite the oppressed and the oppressors...to come together, forgiving the past...and look forward to a bright future
I could go on and on (thanks to wiki and many other sources :P).
But one of the most important things is how amazingly Sports binds people together. How 5-9-11-15 players giving their 100% make millions smile...
And this couldn't be more evident than Indian Cricket itself!
I don't really need to tell you again of how important Kapil Dev, Gavaskar, Kumble, Dravid, Ganguly and ofcourse the Master have been for modern Indian society. Everyone forgets his religion, caste, creed, occupation, grievances and what not when Sachin scores a double.
And thats what makes him different from sportsmen...the ability to handle pressure of a billion expectations...the responsibility of a billion smiles. And so has been the case of many more inspirations...Bobby Fischer, Vishwanathan Anand, Dhyaan Chand, James J. Braddock, Muhammad Ali, Don Bradman and many many more. The purpose of the Greek Olympics 2 millennia ago is now well served :)
I hope we get to see much much more of great sporting feats from all over the world, all sports of all countries...
