Gunjan Saxena's Fellow IAF Officer Sreevidya Rajan Calls Out the Netflix Film: 'Our Flying Was Never Cancelled for Petty Reasons'

Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl is the latest offering by Netflix. The movie is bankrolled by Dharma Productions. After what happened with Drive, the production house faced scrutiny. Now, while the new film has been appreciated, it is also drawing sharp criticism from a section. Janhvi Kapoor stars as the titular character, the first female Indian Air Force pilot to fly into a warzone. The movie explores the sexism she faced during her tenure at the hands of her fellow officers and one particular superior. Sreevidya Rajan, an IAF pilot, has not only refuted the claim that Gunjan was the first to fly into a warzone, but has also called out the cinematic liberties of the film. Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl Gets Accused of Peddling Lies By Retired Wing Commander Namrita Chandi.

In a lengthy Facebook post, Sreevidya wrote, "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 skeptical about our acceptance in the male-dominated niche area of flying," Gunjan Saxena Actor Pankaj Tripathi Says He Kept Recounting Every Instance of Sacrifice Women Make While Filming for Janhvi Kapoor’s Netflix Film.

She added that they did not face harsh sexism as shown in the movie. "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," Sreevidya wrote.

"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."

Check Out Sreevidya's Facebook Post Here:

In one scene in the film, Gunjan has to go through a humiliating arm wrestling match with a male colleague. "We never faced any humiliating physical strength demonstrations as shown in the movie. We were never ill-treated or humiliated by our fellow officers," Sreevidya denied. She also said that the events of the climax, where Gunjan defied the orders, also did not happen.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 17, 2020 04:53 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).