Biopic On Gunjan Saxena, First Woman To Fly In Kargil War Zone, On Cards

Do you know that flight lieutenant Gunjan Saxena was India’s first woman to fly choppers, who evacuated and saved injured Indian soldiers from Kargil, 18 years ago? Now you’ll watch her inspiring life story on the big screen.

Rumour has it that Filmmaker Karan Johar is gearing up to make a biopic on Saxena.

“Karan, who is also partaking as a producer in many women-oriented films like the Alia Bhatt-starrer 'Raazi', is now looking to cast the right girl for the role. Karan will not direct the film himself,” says a source, Deccan Chronicle reported.

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Saxena was the first woman pilot of Indian Air Force. Along with flight lieutenant Srividya Rajan, Saxena made Operation Vijay a historic event. She had flown her Cheetah helicopter to the war zone and retrieved injured soldiers in the Kargil War. The rest as they say is history!

“I could not wait to be called,” Saxena had told OutlookIndia back in 2006

Saxena, who belongs to Udhampur, comes from an Army family. Having grown up watching her combat aviator father and her brother donning the army hat, Saxena knew her true calling. During the Kargil war, Saxena was stationed at the operational zone in Srinagar.

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The Outlook reported that the soldier was not afraid to bring out the dead and nurse the wounded from the jagged mountain edges. Flying a chopper in such an area requires immense skill where one has to also dodge Pakistani missiles. With Saxena's grit and determination, she made the operation successful.

 “There is no problem about gender as all of us get the same opportunities. Initially, the people were a little stunned,” she shared in the report, “but now they are used to it”

Saxena was awarded the Shaurya Chakra. She was one of the 25 women who were part of the first batch of IAF trainee pilots.

Saxena is married to an IAF chopper pilot.

Also Read: First Woman Army Officer To Win Gallantry Award Gets Permanent Commission

Also Read: Fighting their own battle, 340 women gets permanent commission as officers in the Indian army

Feature image credit: Indiatimes.com

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