SafedOperation Safed Sagar has emerged as one of Netflix’s breakout shows this year, with its gritty and emotional retelling of the largely untold story of an Air Force reconnaissance squadron during the Kargil War striking a chord with audiences. On the occasion of India’s 80th Independence Day, Co-Showrunner and Co-creator Abhijeet Singh Parmar Co-producer Mehboob Pal Singh spoke exclusively about what the series taught them about patriotism beyond the familiar imagery of war, sacrifice and heroism. Operation Safed Sagar stars Siddharth, Abhay Verma, Jimmy Shergill, Prajakta Koli, Mihir Ahuja, Dia Mirza, Vinay Pathak, Manu Rishi Chadha among others.
For the duo, the journey began with understanding the people who lived through the events the series depicts. They met real-life and veterans, through their Co-Creator Kushal Srivastava (who is also ex IAF), spent time learning about the experiences of their families and undertook arduous recce journeys to understand the physical world of the story. Travelling to nearly 16,000 feet in Spiti gave them a first-hand sense of the unforgiving terrain that forms such an important part of the narrative.
Operation Safed Sagar Co-Creator Abhijeet Singh Parmar and Co-Producer Mehboob Pal Singh Brar spoke exclusively about what the series.
The experience also changed their understanding of heroism. In an exclusive interaction with Zoom, Mehboob said he believes that the real heroes are often those who never speak about their achievements. “The biggest learning is that real heroes are often the people who never talk about what they have done. They simply do it and never feel the need to mention it. has made me realise that there is a great deal of sacrifice in the safety I enjoy in the living room of my house. Those sacrifices are made on an everyday basis for me to be able to feel safe on an everyday basis.”
For him, the story also offered a larger lesson about resilience and the way people respond to adversity. “One thing that the story of has strengthened in me is that we can not let circumstances take over us. We have to deal with them head on. What happens to us doesn’t define us. How we respond to it, does,” he said
Abhijeet on his part agreed that the experience forced them to look beyond conventional ideas of patriotism. “There are so many stories that remain unheard. These are stories of humanity in adversity. They are also an essential part of the history of our land and its people, and we need to record them for ourselves and for future generations,” he suggested.
Operation Safed Sagar stars Siddharth, Abhay Verma, Jimmy Shergill, Prajakta Koli, Mihir Ahuja, Dia Mirza, Vinay Pathak, Manu Rishi Chadha among others
That process of uncovering forgotten stories also left Abhijeet humbled. The maker said “Safed Sagar humbled me. It made me realise that many of the problems we worry about are very small compared to what people in the forces live through and endure.”
Their extensive production experience became another strength while creating the ambitious world of the show. Having worked behind the scenes for years, the duo understood what it takes to carry an idea from its earliest stages to the screen. That experience, combined with their research and interactions with veterans, helped them bring authenticity to the series.
For Abhijeet, however, the journey does not end with Operation Safed Sagar. “I feel we should keep returning to chapters that remain unexplored and stories that remain untold,” he signed off. In that sense, perhaps the series has become not just a story about the Kargil War, but an invitation to revisit the forgotten human stories that form an essential part of India’s history.
The series has been Created and Showrun by Abhijeet Singh Parmar and Kushal Srivastava and Produced by Sanjay Routray, Sarita Patil and Mehboob Pal Singh Brar.