Operation Safed Sagar (2026) – Restrained historical drama

Genre: Indian War Movie (TV series)

Platform: Netflix

Time: 6 episodes x average 55 minutes

Cast:  Siddharth (Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja). Jimmy Shergill (Wing Commander ‘Tony’ Dhanoa). Adil Hussain (Air Marshal Vinod Patney). Abhay Verma (Flying Officer Rajpal Singh Dhaliwal a.k.a. Dhali). Mihir Ahuja (Flying Officer C.H. Bal Reddy a.k.a. Baldy). K.C Shankar (Squadron leader Alok Choudhury aka Chou). Amrita Bagchi (Alka Ahuja). Dia Mirza (Kamalpreet Dhanoa). Prajakta Koli (Madhavi Reddy). Manu Rishi Chadha (General Pervez Musharraf). Vinay Pathak (PM Nawaz Sharif). Anjan Srivastava (PM A.B.Vajpayee)

Plot:  In 1999, the forward posts of the Indian Army near the Line of Control (LoC) which are vacated during the harsh winter, are occupied by the Pakistani Army. The order to evict them results in the first ‘televised war’, with journalists from news channels vying for attention while reporting on the heroism of the Army soldiers. Meanwhile, the Indian Air Force is grappling with problems for its own counter strike preparations , codenamed Operation Safed Sagar,. They have lost two pilots, one of whom is returned safely while the other is tortured and executed. Demands from the Army for air support results in some innovative solutions to bomb the Pakistani occupied Indian posts resulting in the status quo.

Border (1997) and Border 2 (2026) are the benchmarks for a “successful war movie”, as they are filled with hyper action , multiple explosions and screaming dialogues against Pakistan. From that point alone Operation Safed Sagar (hereafter OSS) compares like a slow-moving art film, thanks to the meticulous attention to detail and minutiae of the overall war from the Air Force’s view. Being an Air Force story, the full cooperation of the Indian Air Force was given including access to air force bases, coaches and consultants for the actors to emulate the air force way of life. The Air Force is thanked at the beginning of each episode

Thanks to the overall restrained writing, there is no need for any screaming matches, nor do the pilots indulge in taunts with the enemy as shown in Border 2. And why should they? They would be too busy doing their multiple tasks while flying at near supersonic speeds.  So those who are expecting screaming and shouting a la Border, forget it. This is not for you.

Those who want a well-researched, true to history drama, with the obligatory emotional moments and even somewhat predictable sequences, this is for you! Well worth your 6 hours.

For those unfamiliar with what happened, here’s a quick history lesson (those who know this part, can skip to the next para). Indian Prime Minister A.B.Vajpayee took a historical bus ride to Lahore to be met by his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif. Unknown to the Pakistani PM, his Army Chief General Parvez Musharraf was planning an operation to occupy the Indian posts vacated during winter, presenting India and the world with a fait accompli. India hopefully won’t do anything to counter this embarrassment and soon Kashmir will be under Pakistani control, as these Indian posts overlook the critical Srinagar-Leh highway. Contrary to this convoluted Pakistani logic, India responded with full military force. After (nearly) 3 months of bloody fighting where Indian officers led from the front, resulting in a high officer casualty rate, the “intruders”, who were actually regular Pakistani Army personnel but were projected as “mujahedeen”, were evicted from the posts. The LoC was restored to the same status. The Indian Air Force played a huge part in demolishing these posts, after lots of trials and tribulations, and in a truly innovative spirit of ‘jugaad’, using the machines beyond their designed limits. Two Indian Migs (1 x Mig 21, 1 x Mig 27) were shot down with the pilot of the Mig 21, Ajay Ahuja, being tortured and killed. The Mig 27 pilot was returned unharmed.  About 550 Indian Army soldiers lost their lives with twice that number injured. Pakistan was not condemned for any of this and on the contrary, Musharraf seized power in a military coup three months later. Pakistan did not acknowledge they were Pakistan Army regulars until much later, when the highest military medal Nishan e Haidar, were given to Captain Karnal Sher Khan and Havildar Lalak Jan, both from 12th Northern Light Infantry. Karnal Sher Khan’s award was based on a letter kept in the dead Captain’s pocket by Indian Brigadier M. P. S. Bajwa, praising Khan’s valor and leadership.

So, how is the overall story arc of the series? Very good, though the switch to the Pakistani side showing Sharif being hounded by Musharraf, takes away from the focus on the Indian Air Force officers trying to find a solution to the problems. At times, the real clips of the events are shown to highlight all the diplomatic, civil and military happenings. The (onscreen) Air Force officers speak of the problems encountered in high altitude warfare – different performance of weapons in the high altitude due to lesser air density, since most weapons are “geared” for low to medium altitudes. The persistent efforts to do “jugaad” are also explained for the audience as conversations between Air Force officers.

Top Gun and other Western air combat films have made the standard air warfare film templates, that are adhered to in OSS but in a milder way. A gung-ho pilot (Dhali). A pilot with repeated personal problems (Baldy). The restrained C.O (Tony). The innovative out of box solutions brought by the new officer (Ahuja). The overall C.O who has to manage his Air Warriors chafing for action (Patney).  The standard “woman supporting at home” template that is normal in most Indian war films. Baldy is worried about his girlfriend Pooja who has run away from home and lands up at his airbase. The “problems” are fairly cliched and stereotyped and can be overlooked , as many Indian war films show similar cliches but they do take the attention away from the warriors. All the performances are remarkably restrained but a special mention about Vinay Pathak as the somewhat clueless Nawaz Sharif , consistently outsmarted by his Army Chief Musharraf played remarkably creepy by Manu Rishi Chaddha. Also equally creepy is veteran S.M.Zahir (people may remember him from Hum Log) as Nawaz Sharif’s father, Abbaji. Jimmy Shergill is always good as the restrained C.O. of the Golden Arrows, managing his team of fresh and experienced pilots. At the end of episode 6, all the real pilots and their future lives are briefly shown, with ‘Tony’ Dhanoa becoming the Air Force Chief.

Visual Fx: The real world aircraft such as Mig 21, Mig 27, Canberra, used in OSS, have been retired from service while the Mirage 2000 (shown briefly) and Jaguars (not shown in the series), still soldier on. So its a given that VFX has to be the main resource for the flying sequences. For the Mig 21s, it’s a mix of real-world action and VFX. Check out the below pics.

The ground shots of the Mig 21s take off

and landing , as above, are real . Shot probably at Nal Air Force base, Gujarat (judging by the background terrain). Nal, Chandigarh , Gwalior are credited in the beginning of each episode.

while the air to air of the MIg 21

and the air to ground attack shots of the Mig 21 and Mig 27s are VFX

The VFX varies from excellent (especially the Mig 27) to the meh level, latter in the mass formation shots, with combat planes flipping in somewhat impossible flights.

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There are some minor goofs such as Stinger missiles being mentioned and the Anza, shown on the missile launcher (Anza being a Pakistani copy/ clone of the Russian SA7 Grail) and the Mig 21s moving as if they have modern thrust vectoring. It was an Anza that actually brought down Ahuja’s Mig 21 and not a Stinger.

The ground level action is also fairly okay as the emphasis is not on the Army but on the Air Force. As for the obligatory Pakistan bashing, it is not even required as Pakistan’s actions during the war, such as not acknowledging their own troops, to the extent of denying a funeral for its martyred regular soldiers, shows their mentality and fanaticism.

I would like to say more about the serial but then it would spoil your viewing pleasure. This is a restrained yet truthful TV series, with the obligatory dose of drama and masala which can be ignored if you focus on the overall story arc, which is faithful to the overall historical happenings. 6 hours well spent and a wonderful tribute to the Indian Air Force and its Operation Safed Sagar

Real History / Historical Background – 5 out of 5

Script – 4 out of 5

Story – 4 out of 5

Direction – 4 out of 5

Photography – 4 out of 5

VFX – 3 out of 5

Total – 4 out of 5