‘Operation Safed Sagar’: Fitting tribute to heroes

Ten minutes. That’s what a young pilot struggling to balance his personal and professional lives is asked to focus on during a coordination exercise. It is a speech reminiscent of Shah Rukh Khan’s monologue from the 2007 classic ‘Chak De! India’. And that’s just a small facet of ‘Operation Safed Sagar’, that chronicles the eponymous Indian Air Force mission from the 1999 Kargil War.

The series opens with Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja, played by Siddharth, being called in to mentor the disparate group. His role, as outlined by Jimmy Shergill’s Wing Commander BS ‘Tony’ Dhanoa, is to turn “these boys into men”.

The first few episodes go by quickly. The young pilots ‘bounce’ the house of the newly appointed mentor, squabble in the air, in the dorms, before coming together as a unit. There’s obviously a limit to the liberties the makers can take when bringing a true story, especially one from the frontiers, to life. However, if there was one area that could have afforded some creative licence, it was the treatment of the boys. There’s hardly any insight into the confident psyche of Abhay Verma’s ‘Dhali’, or breathing room for the vulnerability of Mihir Ahuja’s ‘Baldy’.

The young pilots remain broadly sketched. Beyond familiar traits — hard-working, ambitious, rebellious — the series offers little insight into who they are. Their conflicts feel manufactured, their camaraderie largely assumed rather than earned.

What saves the first half of the series are the real-life heroes behind the series. Siddharth and Shergill ease into the skin of their characters.

Even more stellar are the unrecognisable Vinay Pathak and Manu Rishi Chadha, who play Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff Pervez Musharraf, respectively. The series spends a considerable time in Islamabad’s corridors of power. Chadha embodies Musharraf’s diabolical colours, while Pathak’s range shines through in Sharif’s wildered naivete.

Do the conversations do justice to the complexities of the matter at hand? Of course not. However, in times when leaders from the other side of the border are often reduced to evil archetypes or buffoons, the series delivers a triumph in its restrained treatment.

The real heroes of ‘Safed Sagar’, both the real-life operation and the series, were always the MiG-flying Air Force officers. The makers had set out to ensure that the dogfights and sorties did not go underrepresented. The Rs 49-crore VFX budget alone is testament to their commitment.

The results are fairly believable action sequences that succeed in building the much-needed tension, for most part at least. Sure the sequences with the supersonic-speed MiGs make their CGI origins evident in more shots than one. They also never quite reach the technical sophistication of ‘Top Gun’ or emulate the visual flair of ‘Dunkirk’, but mark a welcome step forward from Bollywood’s tendency toward exaggerated spectacle.

Director Oni Sen, who admittedly prioritises the human over the machine in storytelling, manages to ensure that the men in the cockpit get plenty of opportunities to shine. And Siddharth and Shergill never miss a beat. Half their faces covered with flying masks, they communicate conviction through just their eyes. The women, including the phenomenal Dia Mirza and Amrita Bagchi, suffice with the little that they have to do.

A stronger technical backbone, sharper dialogue (it’s all too verbose and explanatory) and more sequences akin to the 10-minute speech could have elevated the series into truly exceptional. Even so, its refusal to succumb to jingoism or over-dramatisation ensures that ‘Operation Safed Sagar’ remains an engaging retelling of an important chapter in military history and a fitting tribute to the heroes who scripted it.