'Operation Safed Sagar' brings Kargil alive

Very rarely does one get to view a gripping Indian web series on OTT based on war or a conflict that has a well-researched and credible script, tight direction and a storyline that blends the geopolitical and military dimensions. ‘Operation Safed Sagar’, airing now on Netflix, is one such offering that portrays the 1999 Kargil conflict with finesse.

Adding to the positives is the restrained and accurate portrayal of characters, including those of Indian and Pakistani politicians, senior military leadership on both sides, and the entire band of pilots from the Golden Arrows squadron of the IAF.

The focus on the much-underplayed role of the Indian Air Force in the Kargil conflict through the lens of one squadron is a masterstroke that prevents cinematic overreach and clutter. It has allowed for a storyline that showcases the finer nuances of life in a typical IAF squadron and offers a close look at operational and tactical vignettes, camaraderie and leadership in a combat environment.

Fighter squadrons all over the world are tight-knit units, with the Commanding Officer and the Flight Commander bearing onerous responsibilities, particularly in stressful training and combat environments.

The IAF squadrons in the 1990s, particularly the MiG-21s, had a disproportionately large number of young officers who needed to be trained and moulded into operationally proficient fighter pilots, ready for combat.

The series portrays Wing Commander Tony Dhanoa and Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja as good leaders — firm, empathetic and bold risk-takers with a sense of duty that ultimately leads Ahuja to take one risk too many and pay for it with his life. Siddharth as Ajay Ahuja comes across as a flight commander who means business, leads from the front and quickly understands his boys well.

Another impressive portrayal is that of Gen Pervez Musharraf and his band of conniving generals, with their obsession with Jammu and Kashmir. The General demonstrates the absolute supremacy of the Pakistan Army in strategic decision-making.

Nawaz Sharif's portrayal as a bumbling but opportunistic politician kept in the dark by a cunning Musharraf is quite convincing. So is PM Vajpayee's portrayal as a well-meaning Indian PM who is blindsided by Musharraf and then goes on to demonstrate firmness by staying with a long military campaign to evict the Pakistani forces from the Kargil heights.

Acknowledged as one of the IAF's best operational commanders in recent decades, Air Marshal Vinod Patney's character is played very well by Adil Hussain, with his clipped English accent and bold decision-making.

There are several authentic and heartwarming episodes in the series that reflect the human dimension of life in a fighter squadron, both in peacetime and during war. Among those that stand out are bachelors 'bouncing' their newly posted and seemingly aloof, soft-drink-consuming flight commander (Ahuja). Then late at night, they end up cutting vegetables for a delectable pulao that is served to them, even as they empty the bar.

Another episode shows a young pilot being distracted by a determined girlfriend, who leaves her home to be with him. She is temporarily adopted by the squadron till they get married.

The briefings, tactical discussions, exhilaration after coming out tops in an exercise and the disappointment of not being in action come across with honesty and in an 'as-it-happens' manner in a typical fighter squadron.

The areas where the director has chosen to exercise his imagination and take liberty with the actual occurrence of events during the Kargil conflict have been well chosen. For example, the exact details of Squadron Leader Ahuja's capture after he ejects, his brutal torture and killing. This part is very well handled in the episode that creates a sequence of events from his ejection, attempted escape and capture to his interrogation and, finally, his execution.

The aviation sequences are well orchestrated and credible, barring a few over-the-top ones, such as the manoeuvring of the MiG-21 in narrow snow-covered and rocky valleys and the conduct of the night operation in the final episode that portrays a large formation of MiG-21s manoeuvring at high altitude by night in close formation. If Tom Cruise can execute several almost-impossible manoeuvres in 'Top Gun' and 'Top Gun: Maverick’, Wing Commander BS Dhanoa ('Tony'), effectively played by Jimmy Shergill, and his boys from the Golden Arrows, can do one better!

The dialogues are crisp and very military-like, with little rhetoric or chest-thumping beyond the very real manifestations of nationalism on both sides.

Overall, this series is one of the finest Indian productions in the war-and-conflict genre in recent decades. It is on the same plane as films such as 'Vijeta' and 'Sam Bahadur'.

The series is also a befitting farewell to the MiG-21, the IAF's longest-serving and best-loved fighter aircraft.

'Operation Safed Sagar' is a must watch for anyone wanting to recall events of the Kargil conflict and understand the IAF's role in the joint operation that decisively evicted the Pakistani forces from the heights in the Kargil sector.