Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai

Mumbai, Aug 18: Actor Mihir Ahuja, who plays Indian Air Force Flying Officer CH Bal Reddy, popularly known as Baldy, in Netflix's period military drama Operation Safed Sagar, says his experience of portraying a Kargil War pilot gave him a deeper understanding of the courage and sacrifices of India's armed forces.

Ahuja had just turned one on June 28, 1999, when India was fighting the Kargil War against Pakistan. Nearly a month later, Indian troops recaptured the mountain posts and declared victory on July 26, a day now observed as Kargil Vijay Diwas. Twenty-seven years later, Ahuja is portraying one of the Indian Air Force officers who fought during the conflict in Onir Sen's Operation Safed Sagar.

The 28-year-old actor said working on the series and interacting with soldiers who had actually participated in the war made him realise how difficult military service can be.

“I can’t even imagine what people in the armed forces go through when they go to war. We could experience not only like even one-fourth of it,” Ahuja said.

The series was made in collaboration with the Indian Air Force, allowing Ahuja and other cast members to hear first-hand accounts from personnel who were involved in the Kargil conflict. The actors also stayed in Air Force quarters at stations including Bikaner in Rajasthan.

“Even listening to the stories, utne mein hi humari halat kharab ho gayi thi! Imagine being on the battlefield, flying jets, and bombing — it shakes me just thinking of that,” he said, saluting the pilots and other personnel who fought for the country.

Ahuja said his biggest personal takeaway from the soldiers he met was their ability to live one day at a time and their exceptional courage.

His co-star Prajakta Koli, who plays his love interest Madhavi, also interacted with Alka Ahuja, widow of Kargil martyr Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja. Koli learnt that an Air Force wife must avoid raising serious or distressing issues with her husband on the day he is scheduled to fly a sortie.

Ahuja recalled a similar experience while shooting. He said the cast once invited a pilot to join them for a shoot the following day, only to be told that the pilot had a sortie scheduled.

“Even sorties aren’t an easy task,” he recalled.

One of the most memorable aspects of filming was getting the opportunity to sit inside actual MiG-21 fighter jets that had been used during the Kargil War. Ahuja said the aircraft were decommissioned after filming, making the cast among the last civilians to sit inside them.

Shooting at an operational airfield also gave the actors an unusual glimpse into everyday Air Force activity. Ahuja recalled seeing fighter jets and helicopters flying overhead while filming on the tarmac.

He joked that the production team, instead of asking assistants to move a car out of the camera frame, would sometimes have to deal with helicopters flying through the background.

“Arey, iss helicopter ko aage karo! I was like, is this for real?” he recalled with a laugh.

Although the actors did not actually fly the fighter jets, filming inside the narrow, roughly four-foot-wide cockpit presented its own challenges.

Ahuja said the cast underwent rehearsals to understand the physical effects of flying, including the impact of gravitational forces. Breathing techniques were used to help them recreate the pressure experienced by pilots.

Even sitting inside the cockpit eventually created a sense of claustrophobia, he said, adding that the experience made him wonder how pilots cope with such conditions during actual combat missions.

“I don’t know how pilots manage. It’s not an easy job at all. You really, really need guts to be where they are,” he said.

Operation Safed Sagar also attempts to portray the personal lives and emotional struggles of soldiers rather than presenting them only as heroic figures.

Ahuja's character Baldy is shown as a young pilot trying to balance his ambition of serving in the Indian Air Force with his personal life. His girlfriend Madhavi leaves home and arrives at his station to marry him, leaving Baldy struggling between his relationship and his responsibilities as an officer.

At one point, he even asks his seniors to transfer him from the Golden Arrows squad. However, he ultimately remains with the squad, marries Madhavi and becomes a father while continuing to serve and eventually fight in the Kargil War.

Ahuja said portraying these personal imperfections was important to making the characters relatable.

“No one’s life is perfect. Imperfections make a human human. Everyone’s life has the yin and the yang,” he said.

He clarified that these imperfections were not related to the pilots' professional abilities, which were shaped by extensive training, but rather to their struggles in their personal lives.

“How do you give time to your family and nation? But these flaws are what make the show great, human, and relatable,” he said.

The series also explores how war affects the families of soldiers. Madhavi keeps her pregnancy from her husband while he is away at war, Alka loses her husband in the conflict, while Flight Lieutenant Sangy, played by Taaruk Raina, chooses to follow in his father's footsteps despite his father having died in a crash.

According to Ahuja, these stories of love, family, loss and personal sacrifice are as important to the series as the pilots' military duties.

The actor also spoke about working with co-stars including Abhay Varma and Taaruk Raina, saying he approaches every project with a “clean slate” and learns from the actors around him.

Ahuja previously played Jughead Jones in Zoya Akhtar's 2023 period coming-of-age musical The Archies. He has also headlined projects including Maa Ka Sum and Shabad.

Despite working in large ensemble projects such as Made in Heaven, The Archies and Operation Safed Sagar, Ahuja said he does not feel a different kind of pressure.

“I’m always nervous before a project, but those are good nerves that help me overcome those challenges,” he said, adding that the key responsibility remains following the director's vision and the script.

For Ahuja, the challenge in Operation Safed Sagar was not only to portray Baldy convincingly but also to hold his own within a large ensemble while contributing to a shared story — much like the collective responsibility of the Air Force officers who fought during the Kargil War.