‘Operation Safed Sagar’, is gearing up to tell a forgotten story from the Indian Air Force. This past Monday, the show’s trailer was released at an event and was attended by the real-life heroes and their families.The ensemble cast includes Siddharth, Jimmy Shergill, Mihir Ahuja, Taaruk Raina, Arnav Bhasin, Abhay Verma, Dia Mirza, and Prajakta Koli.
Siddharth on playing a real-life martyr
Siddharth, who plays officer Ajay Ahuja in the series, got emotional as he spoke about the inspiration behind his character.An emotional Siddharth teared up as he spoke about Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja, saying, “For Operation Safed Sagar, I was initially hesitant to play the part because there is a way heroes are depicted, specifically our martyrs. They are not here to defend or accept the portrayal, so I find it difficult. It is easier to play a fictional character.”“Secondly, the moment you know someone is a martyr, we tend to make them a certain kind of person, and heroes don’t look like heroes. They are heroes because of their actions. So I was scared. I didn’t want to do injustice to somebody’s memory. So it took a lot of discussion with the makers about staying true to the integrity of a great man’s memory and a soldier’s story. I just asked if his wife Alka Ahuja allowed it,” the actor added.
Jimmy Shergill on why the story matters now
During the event, Jimmy explained why young viewers, in particular, should tune into ‘Operation Safed Sagar’. He also shared a personal memory of once wanting to join the armed forces himself, mentioning that he couldn’t qualify despite securing 90 per cent marks in school. “Don’t look at this as it took 27 years for this story to be told. See it as after 27 years at least the story is being told. Before this, not many people knew Air Force’s contribution in the Kargil War or the world record they set. It is very important for the new generation to know these things. Until we got these details, even we didn’t know about this,” he said.Jimmy added, “Stories that are authentic need to be told. If anyone calls this rigged, they are stupid. Nowadays it’s very easy for people to call something rigged. But the truth shall be told. Back in the day, 99 per cent of kids from public schools wanted to join the armed forces. I had scored 90 per cent. Still, I didn’t make the cut. I had applied too, and couldn’t qualify. There was so much competition. Nowadays, I feel no one is interested in joining the armed forces. Everyone wants to do films. All have been given a phone, and they just want to make reels on it, but who will fight for the nation then?”.
‘Operation Safed Sagar’ Release date
The show, directed by Oni Sen and created by Abhijeet Singh Parmar and Kushal Srivastava, will begin streaming on August 7.