I have always thought that documentaries are a reflection of the strength of the human spirit. They condense several decades of successes and setbacks, of friendships, of conversion, into a narrative that, at the end of it, leaves the heart a little bit warmer and the brain a little bit wiser. While on a recent Emirates plane journey, I watched the documentary Wham!: Last Christmas Unwrapped, and I expected nostalgia, but what I got instead was something deeply, deeply personal. As the familiar tune of “Last Christmas” began playing on the plane, I felt myself transported back into my youth, when the world seemed wide open, the possibilities for the future infinite, and the voice of George Michael seemed to capture the sentiments that we never quite managed to articulate.

It not only depicts the phenomenal success of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley, but the thing that impressed me the most was the genuineness of their friendship. “We were just two kids who believed that something magical could happen,” says Andrew Ridgeley in the documentary. It wasn’t about achieving success, but about the fact that these two boys believed that something magical could happen, about the fact that they believed that their future could be bigger than the circumstances around them. That one sentence changed the entire perspective of how I view my goals. Each goal starts with the belief that something magical can happen.

Watching George Michael on the screen, his charisma, vulnerability, and brilliance, I surprised myself by feeling overwhelmed. I felt a lump build up, not merely of sadness, but gratitude. George Michael was one of my favourite singers. Wham! was the accompaniment of my youth, the music that provided the backdrop of friendships, ambitions, and learning. But also, Wham! had provided the rhythm of my youth. I was sitting there, years later, watching the narrative of the music that had provided that rhythm.

“I wanted to be loved for who I really was.” This is one of the strongest statements about himself that George made, and it is easy to see why the documentary is so strong. It does not matter how famous George was around the world because, deep down, he was a young man trying to figure out who he was and how he could maintain that, which is the strongest thing.

What inspired me the most was how the band Wham! ended—and that was not with bitterness, but with dignity. Their last concert at Wembley was not about saying goodbye, it was about a celebration. “It was the perfect ending,” says Ridgeley, and when I watched that scene, I realized that it is not only important to know how to start with passion, it is also important to learn how to end with grace.

It also highlights the importance of discipline and hard work. Wham! did not become successful overnight. It took them a lot of hard work. George once said, “If you work hard enough, you can make anything happen.” This phrase stuck with me long after the documentary ended. It reminded me that achieving dreams requires sweat, tears, and sacrifice. As the plane started descending into Dubai, I stood frozen for a moment, letting the feeling that the documentary had brought on seep into me. 

There are films that entertain, others that educate, and very rarely, there are films that connect with that antique, tender place deep, deep within us. Wham!: Last Christmas Un Wrapped was a reminder of what I used to be, and a reminder of the potential that I still have. Finally, this documentary film taught me that memories are actually sources of motivational strength. 

Our youth, our music, our idols, and other memories of the past give us strength throughout the passage of time. As I moved out of the morning of Dubai, the voice of George Michael whispered softly in my heart, stating that each season of life provides new opportunities for discovering. As long as we retain the strength, integrity, and optimism of youth, we will continue to give the biggest gift of life to ourselves, which is the gift of dreaming.

Dr. Prahlada N.B
MBBS (JJMMC), MS (PGIMER, Chandigarh). 
MBA in Healthcare & Hospital Management (BITS, Pilani), 
Postgraduate Certificate in Technology Leadership and Innovation (MIT, USA)
Executive Programme in Strategic Management (IIM, Lucknow)
Senior Management Programme in Healthcare Management (IIM, Kozhikode)
Advanced Certificate in AI for Digital Health and Imaging Program (IISc, Bengaluru). 

Senior Professor and former Head, 
Department of ENT-Head & Neck Surgery, Skull Base Surgery, Cochlear Implant Surgery. 
Basaveshwara Medical College & Hospital, Chitradurga, Karnataka, India. 

My Vision: I don’t want to be a genius.  I want to be a person with a bundle of experience. 

My Mission: Help others achieve their life’s objectives in my presence or absence!

My Values:  Creating value for others. 

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