Released on August 12, 2020 is an inspirational biopic directed by Sharan Sharma and produced under Dharma Productions and Zee Studios recently released on Netflix.
The film stars Janhvi Kapoor as Indian Air Force pilot Gunjan Saxena, the first Indian female air-force pilot in combat zone. This is a story about courage. A narrative persistence, ability to stand in the face of all odds that every girl must tell herself to break through the shackles of sexism and gender inequality. It makes me very proud to know yet another determined “Bharat ki Beti” who served our country with strategy, valor and confidence rescuing her fellow army officers fighting against Pakistan in the treacherous Kargil valley in the Indo-Pak war of July 1999.
This is a story of a seemingly simple but determined girl who wants to train to be a commercial pilot since childhood. But after chasing many moving hurdles, she realizes that she can join the Indian Air Force to pursue her dream of flying. She faces a lot of discouragement from her mother and her brother Anshuman Saxena played by Angad Bedi despite the fact that the brother is himself in Indian Army.
He probably wants to shield his sister from the prejudiced mentality because he knows of the pervasive male chauvinistic culture in the armed forces ( surprise surprise!). Gunjan’s father, an ex-Army officer played effortlessly by Pankaj Tripathi on the other hand encourages his daughter because he recognizes her sincerity and helps her realize her dream every step of the way. His empathy for his daughter is similar to the one he demonstrates in another recent movie: “Bareilly ki Barfi” on just having faith in his daughter’s gut feeling.
“If you are sincere to your training you will definitely serve your country well”, he tells her. What a clarity of thought that pierces through all the “ifs and buts” that plague a woman’s entry into any career field.
Gunjan gets selected for the Air Force by three questions in her personal interview that judge her presence of mind and lateral thinking ( that looks too easy to me and I even checked with an Air Force officer who does not agree with the rigors of the selection process, training or attitude among the cadets and officers.) But in keeping with the storyline after a brief hiccup Gunjan Saxena passes her medical test; thanks to the “Rekha” diet and her unexpectedly long arm span and leg length to fit requirements of the Air Force helicopter.
But after basic fitness and combat training ( which appears pretty rushed in the film) Saxena is posted at Udhampur Air Force camp where this soldier faces many ridicules and slights from not having a gender specific changing facility ( much like the Lady computer/ mathematician from the Hollywood movie: Hidden Figures) to being stopped from being deployed because the male pilots feel uncomfortable flying with her.
It is serendipitous that her training is in Udhampur because my first cousin dreamt of being a pilot there. As kids when we played on the hills of Udhampur we knew he would be selected because right from childhood he was fascinated with the machinery, craft and thrill of flying! But of course he is a guy,and his experience would have been different but the fun fact is that his wife is also a pilot and they both met in training! Please excuse my digression. Gunjan Saxena survives the offensive " Choli ke peechhe song” in the officers’ mess and also manages to collect maximum flight hours under her belt.
But she is still not allowed to lead her group because she fails at a wrist wrestle with her colleague( After all flying is about brute strength?! ). Does Gunjan quit? Does this 24 year old girl decide to settle down like any other good Indian girl to matrimony and domestication? Or does she go back to the base? What happens next is the most interesting climax of the story! How this young female pilot plays a strategic role in the Kargil war is a must see for all girls and also for those men who want to hide in the corridors so that they don’t have to salute a female officer! Arijit Singh’s title number: Bharat ki Beti is a hit! It should be played on encore and is on my playlist!
I congratulate Janhvi Kapoor for a good role! The young actor seems to slip into the role of this spectacular Indian lady pilot without any melodrama. Kapoor is clearly in awe of the real Kargil girl whose name is synonymous with the Kargil victory! It would be fun to hear all the “behind-the-scenes” workshops that went into making the film. How much input the filmmakers took from Indian Air Force to make the film more true to the real story is also on my mind. Did Jahnvi Kapoor actually fly the Air Force helicopter? I wish the film was more nuanced and showed the female lead not fighting against the male officers to leave her mark but at their side. It’s still worth watching but please do so with a handkerchief for those tears of joy for all our female and male soldiers keeping our motherland safe!
Monita Soni is a Huntsville physician.
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August 18, 2020 at 05:11AM
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Gunjan Saxena is a story of courage - AL.com
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