Newly released movie Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl, which is a biopic of former IAF Flight Lieutenant Gunjan Saxena, has already caused a commotion over the internet because of apparent inaccurate facts within a week of its release.
Saxena’s coursemate, former IAF Flight Lieutenant Sreevidya Rajan, however, says that the details of the film have been twisted and that she along with Gunjan were the first IAF female pilots, not just the latter.
Sreevidya Rajan posted her side of the story on her Facebook page where she included information that the filmmakers apparently twisted and stated wrongly. As per Rajan, she and Saxena trained together at the Air Force Academy and Helicopter Training School.
“Both of us were posted to Udhampur in 1996 but in the movie, it was shown that she was the only lady pilot posted at the unit. Since the two of us were the first lady pilots to be posted to that helicopter unit, we were sceptical about our acceptance in the male-dominated niche area of flying. We were received with the usual preconceived notions and prejudices from a few colleagues. However, there were enough officers to support us.“
Sreevidya also added that they were under tougher scrutiny than their male counterparts. “We were under strict scrutiny and certain mistakes of ours were met with corrective actions which may have been overlooked had it been done by our male counterparts. We had to work harder than our counterparts to prove ourselves to be at par with them. Some were not happy to share the professional space with us but the majority accepted and treated us as fellow officers working towards a common goal.”
Talking about how in the movie reel Gunjan was humiliated by being asked to arm wrestle with a male pilot to demean her in the matter of strength, Sreevidya Rajan says nothing like that happened. She stated, “Our flying began within a few days of our arrival and was never interrupted or cancelled for petty reasons as wrongly portrayed in the movie. The squadron commander was a thorough professional. He was a very strict and tough officer who took us to task whenever there was a mistake from our side, be it male or female. We never faced any humiliating physical strength demonstrations as shown in the movie. We were never ill-treated or humiliated by our fellow officers.“
As for the part where Gunjan was shown as the only and first female pilot to fly in Kargil operations, Rajan dismisses that saying it wasn’t Gunjan but it was she who was the first woman pilot to be deployed at Srinagar, much before the arrival of Gunjan.
Writing about it on her Facebook post Sreevidya says, “In the movie, Gunjan Saxena was shown as the only lady pilot to fly in Kargil operations. This is factually incorrect. We were posted together to Udhampur and when the Kargil conflict started, I was the first woman pilot to be sent along with the male counterparts in the first detachment of our unit which deployed at Srinagar. I flew missions in the conflict area even before Gunjan’s arrival at Srinagar. After a few days of operation, Gunjan Saxena came to Srinagar with the next set of crew. We actively participated in all operations given to us which included casualty evacuation, supply drop, communication sorties, SAR, etc. The heroic acts of the protagonist portrayed in the climax never actually happened and may have been shown as part of cinematic licence.”
“Though I was the first lady pilot to fly in Kargil, I never claimed it in any forum before this due to my strong belief in gender equality. In Kargil operations, male pilots had flown extensively and faced more hardships than us. But they never got or sought any publicity. We probably were given this fame because of our gender which I do not support. In defence services, there is no disparity between male or female. We are all officers in uniform,” mentions Sreevidya as she specifies that she was the first lady pilot.
Sreevidya had a lot of good to say about Gunjan. “She is a brilliant officer and a thorough professional. She had many achievements during her career which should have been portrayed to inspire the younger generation instead of showing her as a weak and oppressed victim in certain scenes. As the pioneers of women pilots, we were treated with utmost respect and it was our responsibility to live up to the expectations and pave way for future generations. The movie is sending out a wrong message about the lady officers of IAF there by demeaning the prestigious organisation of our country,” Rajan added.
