GUNJAN SAXENA (the movie):

The Nonsense that Bollywood gives you!

NOW, I watched the film Gujan Saxena yesterday with a lot of anticipation, as I had read a lot about the movie in the reviews (All Bad and Good Stuffs) and personally I don't have issues with fictionalization of a film story or fiction as a film story, but when you pretend something to be close to a real life story or real incidents and mention a persons name involved in those real incidents, then there has to be some limitations with how much liberty you can take with the facts, but the makers of this movie have certainly forgot that idea. In fact, there has to be a limitation on how much liberty you take so that you're not called an IDIOT. I'm sorry to say this, but people who have made this film have trivialised military aviation, they've trivialised the IAF, and it's not related to the politics of the film - "The Gender Politics". This movie is simply nonsensical and shows the makers have really low IQ.

Also, if the idea was that more women should come and join the forces, it does exactly the opposite. In fact, what the movies does is that it helps create a notion that "WHY YOU MUST NOT JOIN THE INDIAN ARMED FORCES". But let's leave all our prejudices aside and look at the facts and areas where liberties has been taken which are in my view, is a "NATIONAL EMBARRASSMENT" and also an embarrassment for Indian Cinema and Movie Makers to have produced this, for something so recent in our lives. There have been many fictional movies on Kargil, and other wars that India has fought but most of those were fictionalized and the Disclaimer read that it's a movie based on fiction, inspired by true events. But in the case of this movie, they've used the name of a real character involved in that war, Gunjan Saxena who is widely respected for her heroics in the medical evacuation operation during the war. In fact, yesterday only I watched "Cut the Clutter" (A News Vlog by Journalist Shekhar Gupta) and there the host tell about his interviews with a former IAF Officer, Squadron Leader Deepa Nailwal (Currently working for Hindustan Times) who was among the first 12 women officers inducted in the first Woman Batch of the IAF (1992) [1994: The first batch of flying women cadets were recruited]. So, basically the movie tries to portray that Jhanvi Kapoor (One who plays the character of Gunjan Saxena) is the first IAF Officer to fly, but it's not as if somebody was the 1st one to do it in 1999. By 1999, a lot of women were already flying in the IAF as helicopter and transport pilots.

Now, I'll start bringing out the problems in detail with this. (Based on Cut the Clutter & Hindustan Times Report for technical details and personal account)

It all starts with the selection process, SSB (Services Selection Board) and many of us already read and know about this while we're passing out of our school, it's a well know thing and a well-sought career plan (atleast in the area where I come from i'e; Bihar). Now, I'll tell you on a personal account as several of my friends have reached to the Armed Forces' SSB process (Special Mention to my friend Shobhit Kishore) and he tells me that no SSB process is carried out in this way, as portrayed in the movie, it looks capricious and despotic, those interviews are not taken by 2 officers rather a bunch of officers are there in the room. Then, the medical examinations do not take place the same day, again a farce in the movie instead it takes place quite late. Then, even while you have been told at the end of the trial that you have been selected, (while no reasons are provided if you aren't selected) you simply don't get recruited in the Armed Forces as there are several such trials going throughout the country and it's only after compiling all the data, a final merit list is prepared. So, the whole thing has been tyrannical and made to look like vague, and frankly DESPOTIC.
And, it's also an insult to the character of Gunjan Saxena in the movie, that she keeps landing up in Delhi without knowing the minimum qualifications that's required for the entrance exams to enter in the Armed Forces. The movie basically suggests that people who become pilots are idiots, they're not idiots, they're smart people. When we were in our 12th Standard, we used to check out everything, every detail that's required for the exams, as without that the process would've become a haphazard. So, basically what the movie does is that it questions your ability to understand things, and sadly we Indians take these things very lightly.
Now, Deepa tells in her interview (To Shekhar Gupta) tells that how ridiculous it is to show that Gunjan Saxena (in the movie) gets 94% marks, but she and her friends are downcast that "Oh, with 94% marks how could I go and become a pilot, my parents won't let me" and suggests, again that those who go and become pilots are ZERO's and that's not the case. So, the whole thing becomes so trivialised that it becomes to look worse and worse and worse...
Then comes kargil, combat and our very own friend misogyny. Now, after this movie released I've read and watched interviews of women IAF officers (mentioned below in the Source Section) and all said that the same things that, yes they faced problems during the initial days as did every other organisation since women didn't go to work earlier, that too the Armed Forces. (Mind you, IAF is the first wing of Indian Armed Forces to induct women) There were no toilers for women and some were discriminated by other MALE officers, but it was no such case that Gunjan Saxena faced all this together, this is simple over-exploitation of the topic.
Another thing they all object to, and something I agree that this idea, a Flight Commander of a squadron (It's the Squadron's soul-keeper) who is responsible for keeping all record of who's flying where, for how many hours, what are the duty rosters, etc. etc. cannot simply cancel planned sorties, because cancelling such planned sorties requires explanation and to do that day after day would shake up the Air Force at a very high level and I think somebody will spend a lot of time in a wrong place for doing such things. So, those things are an IMPOSSIBILITY and it's not a situation where one person is against the other.
And, then comes the part where I was so amazed that I couldn't decide that should I laugh at this stupidity or get angry on this IDIOTICs. Here I talk of the moment when Gunjan Saxena gets upset and sullen upon mistreatment by her MALE seniors at Udhampur Air Base (Udhampur is a forward AFB, it's also the Northern Army Command Headquarters) So, this lady gets upset, writes a leave application, drop that in her Commandant's letter box and disappears in the middle of the night. Now, think for a second Can Something of that sort happen that the Security Personnel will open the gate for her and she will simply leaves with her bag? It's farcical to even think that. More importantly, in the Armed Forces, a serving officer leaving like this, dropping a letter like that, without telling anyone the reasons, leaving the station and reaching home. This is an act of DESERTION and wherever that person will go, the Police along with Air Force Police will be there very soon and after that the consequences will be terrible. All this simply insults everybody's intelligence.
Then, when we come at the final sequence of the movie, when Gunjan Saxena lands at her Helicopter Base near Kargil, and the war was going on. So, Karan Johar and his production house decides to bring their "Bollywood Moment" for us. Here, Gunajn Saxena character's brother is in the Army, senior to her, a Major in the Punjab Regiment. You would be thinking that he must be on his operational duty. Naah! He's there to keep an eye on her sister and to protect her. Now imagine, he's a serving Major, but is wasting his time in Kargil watching his sister at her base, taking mission sorties. Can something of that sort happen in any Armed Forces, least of all in Indian Armed Forces? This is, absurdity of another level. During Kargil War, brothers weren't stationed at bases to protect sisters, rather they were protecting brothers and sisters of this nation, who were not wearing uniforms and weren't having arms.

OK, I'll accept all this "dramebaazi" if it would've been a fiction, but this is not a fiction, you've used a real persons' name.

Now, lets come to the Operations, Gunjan Saxena the pilot whose name you're using used to fly a Cheetah helicopter for casualty evacuation, not in combat operations. Again, the movie showcases the Cheetah helicopter as a Gunship. I beg you, for GOD's sake be somewhat realistic, Cheetah is a French-Indian Single Engine helicopter deployed for operational purposes and not for combat operations. Again, NONE of these helicopters were shot down, the movie shows downing of 2 Cheetah helicopters.The movie again comes to distort the facts just for trivialization; Neither any pilot of Cheetah helicopter was captured during war and nor any other helicopter was shot down where Gunjan Saxena would've to go and rescue her Commander. This movie is anything, but factual.

Meanwhile, what happens is that it neither does justice to the character of Gunjan Saxena nor pays respect to those who actually suffered casualties and to those who actually fought in that dreadful war and it's disgusting and shameful to do so. I would rather call it Brazen!

Eventually, the Indian Air Force actually lost 4 aircraft's in the Kargil War:

2 Mig's (1 Mig-21 & 1 Mig-27) - Flight Lt. Kambampati Nachiketa (taken POW by Pakistan) & Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja (Ejected, but shot dead)
1 Mi-17 Helicopter (It's a 2 engine Helicopter) - Sq. Leader Rajeev Pundir, Flight Lt. S.Muhilan, Sg. PVNR Prasad, Sg. RK Sahua (All lost)
1 Canberra (Shot, but managed to land at the base)

Here, I'm not questioning the acting skills of any character, rather questioning the way in which facts have been distorted to suit the "Bollywood Drama". Please, for heaven's sake, if your'e making a movie inspired by real life story, please be serious to the cause and remain true to the fact. And, sadly in India, many few films on War have remained so. In fact, to my mind I could not recall a single movie that is completely factual, from wrong badges to salutes, Indian Movie Makers don't take this business seriously as they know that Indian movie watchers have a very short lived memory.

P.S. - IAF is complaining about this movie and I would say this is completely justified since this movie is a complete mis-representation of the life in the IAF, and that too happened by using a real officers' name. But, it's also true that much else, which is fictional and nonsensical stuffs is hailed by the Armed Forces and the establishment also, because that is flattering and it suits there agenda.

Caution - This Blog is highly based on the Cut The Clutter Episode of Shekhar Gupta on The Print, but it's based on other sources as mentioned below.

Sources: