On 12th August 2020, Netflix premiered the biopic ‘Gunjan Saxena: the Kargil Girl’. People have loved the movie completely. Everyone is appreciating the bravery of the women to break the glass ceiling. The movie is inspiring and will aspire other women to do the same. The movie starring Janhvi Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, and Angad Bedi has received appreciation for their performance. Produced by Dharma Productions and directed under Sharan Sharma, the movie has a lot to offer to the audience.
Firstly, Gunjan Saxena was the first woman Indian Air Force officer who created history as a Flying Officer in the 1999 Kargil War by entering into the combat zone and rescuing several soldiers. Secondly, she holds the rank of Flight lieutenant. Gunjan was born in Lucknow and is the daughter of an army officer. After graduation, she joined the Delhi Flying Club and after completing her aviation training, she joined the air force. Her batch consisted of 24 women and she was the first of all women batch for training in IAF. Thirdly, and most importantly, Gunjan took a flight to Srinagar when she was only 25 and made history by being the only woman pilot in combat. You can watch the trailer for the movie below.
Rachna Bisht Rawat wrote a biography titled ‘Kargil: Untold Stories from the War’ which described Gunjan’s story of flying over the mountains of India and Pakistan with the soldiers fighting against each other. Gunjan covered the Kargil, Tololing, and Batalik area to carry the wounded soldiers back. She controlled a fighter jet and she even had a close save when the enemies fired a missile on her. Due to her courage and bravery, everyone knew her as ‘The Kargil Girl’.
Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl on @netflix has some extremely negative portrayal of @IAF_MCC.
It is also filled with lies.
Women officers are treated with utmost respect in IAF.
Please don’t malign the Armed Forces just because you want to sell your film.
— Major Gaurav Arya (Retd) (@majorgauravarya) August 12, 2020
The Indian Air Force has raised objections regarding the gender discrimination portrayed in the movie. Gunjan said that she had received a lot of support from her fellow officers and commanding officers. The scenes throw a negative light on the Indian Air Force. So, IAF wrote a letter to Dharma Productions, the Central Board of Film Certification, and Netflix addressing the issue. A retired officer even took it to Twitter to talk about this. Then, Gunjan stated that equal opportunities were given to her. Moreover, in the last 20 years, IAF has produced numerous women officers. That itself is proof that the institution is progressive and positive on bringing a change.
The movie being a biography is also a work of fiction. Hence, such scenes were added for entertainment purposes. Consequently, the Indian Air Force does not need to prove anything to anyone to maintain its dignity. To watch the movie you can click here and for more such updates, stay tuned.
