Mumbai, Aug 30: The success of “Operation Safed Sagar” is an example of a “zeitgeist project”, believes actor Siddharth, who says that the response to the Netflix series has changed not only the scale but also the nature of conversations coming his way.
“I’m just very happy that the flight landed and it landed safely. That’s what ‘Operation Safed Sagar’ is to me today,” Siddharth told PTI in an interview.
The actor has been receiving praise for his portrayal of Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja in the six-episode military drama, which tells the story of the Indian Air Force’s role in the 1999 Kargil War.
Since its debut on the OTT platform on August 7, the show has featured on Netflix’s Global Top 10 Non-English TV List for consecutive weeks.
Siddharth said the day he signed the project, he knew it would “travel and travel deep”.
“Operation Safed Sagar” is a zeitgeist project… I can tell you the difference between projects that are zeitgeist like this… It’s just that your phone rings very differently. Your messages are received very differently. The width and distance from where those messages come from and the times of day they come from all hits very differently,” he said.
“Operation Safed Sagar” follows Indian Air Force’s Golden Arrows Squadron and their high-altitude air campaign during Kargil war, including the extraordinary challenge of conducting air operations at mountainous elevations while being prohibited from crossing the Line of Control.
The story focuses on a group of seasoned and young fighter pilots who undertake high-risk combat missions while navigating the emotional and personal costs of war.
Ahuja was killed after his MiG-21 gets hit while on a mission to locate a downed pilot during the Kargil conflict. He was posthumously awarded the Vir Chakra for his courage and sacrifice.
“What we’re getting from day one… the metrics and the optics that are being talked about is authenticity, intention, how it’s different from everything else that’s been related to warfare in the past in fictionalised television or cinema, and how it does tribute in the perfect way to Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja,” Siddharth said.
The actor, known for his performances in “Bommarillu”, “Chithha”, and “Rang De Basanti”, said the show has also been appreciated for depicting the conflict without resorting to caricature or jingoism.
“People have praised how it gets the enemy right without making them caricatures or without empty hate; how it does patriotism without jingoism; and how it does technical wizardry without apology that ‘No, we only had this much money to spend on the VFX’,” he said.
Siddharth said one of the most overwhelming aspects of the response has been hearing from senior members of the armed forces.
“I’ve been receiving messages from three-star generals and air marshals, and that is very new for me. So that is just because of the pedigree, reputation and sacrifice of Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja,” he said.
One of the show’s most personal and poignant sequences features Siddharth’s Ajay Ahuja sharing a candid moment with the younger pilots, just hours before the ill-fated flight of his life.
The scene captures the veteran pilot’s attempt to ease the nerves of the anxious young men by telling them, “Mera bhi pehla war hai yaar” (It is my first war as well). He then plays the game of Two Truths and a Lie with the pilots, ultimately revealing that joining the air force was not his first option.
For Siddharth, the scene captures something essential about the Indian Air Force and the camaraderie between its personnel.
“I found it fascinating that they paused to go into the human being as opposed to shout out his reasons for being nervous, anxious or angry with what’s going to happen next. I love that scene also because of that line — ‘Mera bhi pehla war hai’,” he said.
“If this was not about the Indian Air Force, then I don’t think that scene would have been the same. The volume at which they’re speaking, the kind of camaraderie with which the room is filled. And the lack of age-based or seniority-based status quo that would usually fill a war room the night before the war,” he said.
Siddharth said he has seen senior and junior officers of the Indian Air Force interact so naturally that an outsider could easily be left wondering who outranks whom.
“It equalizes so quickly. It’s like a teacher telling their student, I haven’t written my exam yet. Because the teacher usually is expected to know everything. He has done everything. I find that to be one of the most gentle qualities of the show,” he added.
Asked if he found what was Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja’s first option before he joined the IAF, the actor said he got to know from the officer’s wife Alka that he was an “engineering nerd” who enjoyed gadgets, photography and acquiring technical knowledge.
“I’d like to believe if Ahuja sir was not a soldier, he might have been an artist like myself. He might have been doing something to do with imaging and photography,” Siddharth said. (PTI)
