Operation Safed Sagar review: Siddharth and Jimmy Shergill soar in a restrained Kargil war drama

The Kargil War remains one of the most crucial and difficult wars that Indian forces fought and won. Since then, numerous films and shows have highlighted the valour of the Indian Army, who bravely reclaimed key peaks in the Kargil sector from the Pakistani army, but not much is known about the role that the Indian Air Force played in the war. Netflix's new series, Operation Safed Sagar, retells an important chapter in history where the IAF fought in the toughest and highest altitudes in history and successfully bombed key hideouts of the Pakistani army in the Kargil and Drass sector, thereby enabling the Indian Army to capture the peaks for India.

Directed by Oni Sen, Operation Safed Sagar doesn’t glorify war but the men and their sacrifice more. It steers clear of the jingoism that is often attached to such war dramas, yet it leaves you with a sense of pride and a sense of the belongingness for the country like India. While the backdrop is that of war, Operation Safed Sagar, successfully gives a 360-degree picture of the situation that prevailed in both Pakistan and India. It also humanises its war heroes, making it an emotional watch where, once again, it is reiterated that the sacrifices the men in uniform and their families have made time and again for the safety of our country.

The plot of Operation Safed Sagar

Months before the Kargil War in 1999, Squadron leader Ajay Ahuja (Siddharth) is called in by B.S Dhanoa Tony (Jimmy Shergill) to an IAF base in Bhatinda to train a bunch of young officers for a special complex formation of their fighter jets, which involves team coordination and alignment. The officers, all raring to go, initially have issues understanding Ahuja’s strategy and following it. Dhali (Abhay Verma) is a risk taker and slightly brazen about flouting rules. He often clashes with Baldy (Mihir Ahuja) who is more of a calculative risk taker. Baldy also has personal battles to fight as his girlfriend Madhvi (Prajakta Koli ) arrives unannounced at the base, keen to elope and marry him.

As Ahuja and his wife Alka (Amrita Bagchi) slowly warm up to the young officers, making them a part of their family at the base, war breaks out in Kargil. They are all asked to report to Srinagar. The Indian Air Force is initially assigned to click photos of crucial checkposts in high altitude captured by the Pakistani Army. The aerial images are to help the Indian Army understand what and who they are fighting high up in the mountains. However, soon the IAF’s Golden Arrows play a strategic role in bombing these captured posts, aiding the army in reclaiming what's ours.

While the first few episodes establish the various characters and their bonding, the later part of the six-part series gives a detailed account of how the IAF made strategic moves to drop bombs in targeted areas, without jeopardising the safety of our own men. Writers Sandeep Jain, Barun Kashyap, Abhijeet Singh Parmar, Nikhil Ravi, and Kushal Srivastava also give a detailed insight into the Pakistani side of the war where PM Nawaz Shariff (Vinay Pathak delivering strong performance) is shown to be at constant loggerheads with his father and General Musharaff ( Manu Rishi Chaddha delivering a class act) who manipulates and constantly lies and intructs the Pak army to infiltrate areas in Kargil, thereby disregarding the Shimla act.

What works and what does not

Operation Safed Sagar works primarily because of its story. It celebrates the men in uniform and how a bunch of them tactically strategised an operation that, by conventional standards, would have failed. Written with insights and inputs from the IAF, the series gets into the thick of things from the beginning, delivering a story that is riveting. It keeps the jargon at bay, instead projecting the story as it had happened, keeping the humane side of the war intact.

Actors Siddharth and Jimmy Shergill lead a formidable cast who are all pitch-perfect in their respective characters. It is a mystery why Siddharth is not seen in Hindi series as much as his fans would want to see him. The actor takes up the role of a brave officer Ahuja in the series, and one can’t help but recall Siddharth playing the rebel youth in Rang De Basanti. The heart cries when his character is held captive by the enemy camp. Shergill, Abhay Verma and Mihir Ahuja, along with Adil Hussain, are all fantastic in their respective roles.

The women- Dia Mirza, Amrita Bagchi and Prajakta Koli have less to do in the series apart from playing the support system to the men. Bagchi’s scenes in the second half stand out for their emotional quotient.

Since the series talks of fighter jets, the instant comparison to Top Gun is inevitable. The CGI is not the best and some of the technical terms and jargons force-fed to the layman viewer. Scenes in the second half, played out in Pakistan between Sharif and Musharraf, feel repetitive too after a point. There is also of course, some dramatisation of certain moments.

However, Operation Safed Sagar picks up pace in the final two episodes, giving a rousing tribute to the IAF and the role they played in the Kargil war. Original TV footage juxtaposed with the series adds more heft to the storytelling. Because Netflix has mounted the show on a big scale, there are prominent actors like Sanjay Suri, Barun Sobti, and Anjan Srivastava playing cameo roles in the series.

Final Verdict

While there are ample amount of shows and films based on the Kargil War, Operation Safed Sagar still stands out as it tells a story that is not so well known. IT also serves as a reminder to the audience that a story on the India-Pak war can be told without force-feeding patriotism. It can be told with sensitivity, factually, without glorifying brutality and killing. Operation Safed Sagar reinstates your belief in the defence forces who have time and again risen up to moments of crisis and protected India.

Operation Safed Sagar is now streaming on Netflix.