Goodbye Bafana premiere show to mark Mandela's 90th birthday
News
-Staff
By Staff
Mumbai
(ANI):
The
premiere
of
the
movie
Goodbye
Bafana
based
on
the
life
of
former
South
African
President
Nelson
Mandela
was
held
here
ahead
of
his
90th
birthday.
The
movie
relives
Nelson
Mandela's
life
and
years
of
South
African
history.
It
stars
Dennis
Haysbert
as
Mandela
and
Joseph
Fiennes
as
the
white
jailor.
Goodbye
Bafana
is
a
critically
acclaimed
film
by
Cannes
award
winning
filmmaker
Bille
August.
A
number
of
Bollywood
actors
turned
up
for
the
premiere
who
were
all
praise
for
the
heroic
efforts
of
the
legendary
Mandela
who
fought
to
uproot
apartheid
or
racial
discrimination
in
South
Africa.
"Mandela
led
a
heroic
life
that
was
full
of
struggle.
I
have
come
here
to
see
all
that," said
Irfan
Khan,
a
Bollywood
actor.
There
was
excitement
among
the
Bollywood
celebrities
as
they
eagerly
waited
for
the
screening
of
the
movie.
"As
much
as
I
know,
he
has
worked
for
his
community
especially
and
he
has
voiced
the
problems
of
the
people.
He
is
a
hero,
I
believe.
Mandela
fought
for
his
people.
It
is
difficult
to
find
people
like
him," said
Mitali,
a
Bangaldeshi
singer.
The
filming
of
the
movie
that
showcases
30
years
of
South
African
history
began
in
April
2006.
The
movie
was
shot
in
original
locations
and
it
takes
one
through
the
same
corridors
and
cells
that
Mandela
and
his
comrades
lived
in
for
nearly
three
decades
of
imprisonment.
The
movie
won
the
Peace
Prize
at
the
Berlin
Film
Festival
2007
and
was
nominated
for
the
Golden
Bear
for
Best
Motion
Picture.
Mandela
devoted
his
life
to
the
fight
against
white
domination,
leaving
Fort
Hare
University
in
the
early
1940s
before
completing
his
studies.
He
founded
the
ANC
Youth
League
with
Oliver
Tambo
and
Walter
Sisulu.
He
was
among
the
first
to
advocate
armed
resistance
to
apartheid,
going
underground
in
1961
to
form
the
ANC''s
armed
wing
--
Umkhonto
we
Sizwe
(the
Spear
of
the
Nation).
Mandela
was
later
arrested
and
sentenced
to
life
imprisonment
in
1964.
After
spending
27
years
in
jail
he
was
freed
on
February.
11,
1990
and
subsequently
became
the
first
black
President
of
South
Africa
in
1994.
Mandela
was
honoured
with
the
1993
Nobel
peace
prize
for
his
fight
against
apartheid.
He
was
awarded
Bharat
Ratna,
India''s
highest
civilian
award
in
1991.