Archive · 11 Aug 2026
Dia Mirza: Operation Safed Sagar Took Me Back to 1999
In 1999, there was a war in a place called Kargil.
The Indian Air Force, the part of the military that flies planes, played a very important role in that war.
A new Netflix show called Operation Safed Sagar tells the story of those pilots and their families.
A famous actress named Dia Mirza is in the show.
She plays the wife of a pilot named Tony Dhanoa.
Dia was only 17, not even 18, when the war happened.
Back then, people knew a lot about what happened on the ground, but almost nothing about what happened in the sky.
Making the show taught her how much focus, discipline and skill it takes to fly and fight.
Real military families have watched it and said, "This is us."
The show helps us understand the courage, love and sacrifice of the people who serve and the families who support them.
Dia Mirza stars as Kamalpreet Kaur Dhanoa, wife of then-Wing Commander B.S. "Tony" Dhanoa, in the Netflix series Operation Safed Sagar.
The series highlights the Indian Air Force's pivotal role in the 1999 Kargil War through India's first large-scale air campaign in a limited war.
Dia, who was "not even 18" during the 1999 war, says civilians knew little to nothing about what happened in the skies.
She said military families from across services have told the cast, "This is us. This is who we are. This is how it is for us."
Operation Safed Sagar, released on Netflix in August, also stars Siddharth, Jimmy Shergill, Mihir Ahuja, Prajakta Koli, Abhay Verma, Barun Sobti and Amrita Bagchi.
- Who
- Dia Mirza, actress in the Netflix series Operation Safed Sagar, along with co-stars Jimmy Shergill, Siddharth, Prajakta Koli and others.
- What
- Dia Mirza discusses how Operation Safed Sagar, about the Indian Air Force's role in the 1999 Kargil War, took her back to 1999.
- When
- The series was released on Netflix in August; the war it portrays took place in 1999.
- Where
- India; the series is set against the backdrop of the 1999 Kargil War.
- Why
- To highlight the sacrifices, precision, courage and emotional realities of those who fought in the skies, as well as the families who stood behind them.
- Series
- Operation Safed Sagar
- Platform
- Netflix
- Release
- August
- Setting
- 1999 Kargil War
- Dia Mirza's role
- Kamalpreet Kaur Dhanoa
- Co-star role
- Jimmy Shergill as Wing Commander B.S. "Tony" Dhanoa
- Historical context
- India's first large-scale air campaign in a limited war scenario