On the auspicious day of the 68th Republic Day of the country, we relive this heartwarming video featuring cricketing icon Sachin Tendulkar, multiple Grand Slam winner Sania Mirza, legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar, former Indian hockey captain Dhanraj Pillay, ace shooter Gagan Narang, Olympic medal winning wrestler Sushil Kumar, footballing icon Bhaichung Bhutia and ace tennis player Mahesh Bhupathi singing the national anthem. The video, aptly titled “The Sports Heroes”, was released last year prior to the 67th Republic Day.
Produced by former cricketer Nilesh Kulkarni and Rasika Kulkarni and directed and written by Abhijit Panse, the video is aimed to inspire the younger generation to take up sports. It was launched last year by none other than Sachin Tendulkar, who even shared his memories from his days as a cricketer when the entire team used to sing the national anthem before the start of every match.
He said, “When you sing the ‘Jana Gana Mana’, your head is always held high, but when you sing it (standing) in the centre of the ground, then...seena chauda ho jata hai (chest swells with pride). But it (singing of national anthem) goes to a different level altogether, when you are playing against Pakistan in 2003 World Cup (in Centurion), standing inside the stadium, in the middle of the group, with 60,000 people singing ‘Jana Gana Mana’.”
The video begins with school kids playing sports with a variety of makeshift sports equipment, develop a liking for the sport and eventually bring glory to the country. It talks about how sports is important in life and why every individual needs to participate in extra-curricular activities.
‘Jana Gana Mana’ was first adopted by the Constituent Assembly as the national anthem on 24 January, 1950. The national anthem never fails to bring about the spur of patriotism within every Indian citizen.
Sunil Gavaskar starts off the rendition and he is soon joined by Dhanraj Pillay, Gagan Narang, Baichung Bhutia, Sushil Kumar and Mahesh Bhupathi. Sania Mirza and Sachin Tendulkar end off the rendition on a subtle note. The objective of the video to inspire the young generation is a very noble one.
Sports is one of the best mediums to break the barriers of creed and culture, between rich and poor. All it takes is hard work and dedication. And as a reward, one gets to make the nation proud on the biggest stages in the world.
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