Amrita Bagchi gave a voice not just to her Operation Safed Sagar character, but also ‘Veer Naari’ Alka Ahuja’s resilience, courage and strength. In the Netflix show based on the Indian Air Force’s mission amid the Kargil War in 1999, she celebrates the contribution of Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja’s partner in his fearlessness and legacy post-martyrdom. The emotional impact of Amrita’s performance on the audience is tremendous. In an exclusive interview with Zoom following the acclaim for Operation Safed Sagar, Bagchi recalled the emotional impact the character had on her.
Amrita Bagchi on first meeting with Alka Ahuja
Talking to us, recalled her first meeting with Alka Ahuja. “When I met her for the first time, I thought I would approach the character with a lot of heaviness and grit because Alka ji is such a resilient person. The role of IAF was not known to many. People within the Indian Air Force and some other people knew of it. Imagine someone becoming a martyr from your family and the nation not knowing about it for 25 years,” the actress said.
Amrita Bagchi and Siddharth in Operation Safed Sagar
Amrita Bagchi reveals what Alka Ahuja told her about Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja
She further added, “When I met her, she said something interesting. She said, ‘Ajay was a lot of fun. If I am not smiling now, it will be a disservice to him.’ I got goosebumps. You understand her strength, resilience, and courage to be an optimist. Apart from the emotional impact, there are two takeaways from the show.”
Amrita Bagchi explains her takeaways from Operation Safed Sagar
She explained, “One is resilience and optimism go hand in hand. We get bitter so easily after rejections. Somebody like this who doesn’t lose faith in the country, in its people and continues to believe in it, voh mujhe laga bohot himmat chahiye. After observing Alkaji, I learnt not to take anything for granted and I pick my battles. The other impact is you truly understand that there are so many people putting their lives at stake for us effortlessly. As citizens, we need to participate in our country’s wellbeing. If we participate in cleanliness activities and healthcare services among other contributions, it will be the best way to honour our country.”
Operation Safed Sagar features Siddharth as . During the operation, his MiG-21 was shot down on May 27, 1999. Alka and Ajay have a son named Ankur, who was reportedly five or six during the Kargil War.