Archive · 16 Aug 2026
Aanjjan Srivastav Played Vajpayee Twice Before Operation Safed Sagar
A new show called Operation Safed Sagar is on Netflix, and lots of people are saying it is very good.
The show is about the Kargil War, a real war in 1999 between India and Pakistan.
In the show, an actor named Aanjjan Srivastav plays Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who was India's prime minister during that war.
Many viewers think Srivastav looks and sounds exactly like the real Vajpayee.
This is not the first time he has played Vajpayee — he also did it in two movies before, one called Sanju and one called PM Narendra Modi.
Other actors have played Vajpayee too, like Pankaj Tripathi in a 2024 movie and Shreyas Talpade in a movie called Emergency.
The show also shows other real leaders, like Pakistan's Pervez Musharraf and Nawaz Sharif.
People are thinking about Vajpayee right now because it is the eighth anniversary of the day he died.
He passed away on August 16, 2018, when he was 98 years old.
Aanjjan Srivastav plays former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Operation Safed Sagar, a six-episode Netflix period war drama directed by Onir Sen.
The series is set during the 1999 Kargil War between India and Pakistan and has received rave reviews for its primary and supporting cast.
Srivastav previously played Vajpayee in Rajkumar Hirani's 2018 film Sanju, as an unnamed 'senior politician,' and in Omung Kumar's 2019 biopic PM Narendra Modi.
The series also features Manu Rishi Chadha as Pervez Musharraf and Vinay Pathak as Nawaz Sharif.
Other actors who have played Vajpayee include Pankaj Tripathi in a 2024 biopic, Shreyas Talpade in Emergency, and Ram Avatar Bharadwaj in The Accidental Prime Minister.
- Who
- Veteran theatre, television and film actor Aanjjan Srivastav, who plays former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Operation Safed Sagar, alongside cast members including Siddharth, Jimmy Shergill, Dia Mirza and Adil Hussain.
- What
- The Netflix period war drama Operation Safed Sagar, set during the 1999 Kargil War, has received rave reviews, with attention on Srivastav's portrayal of Vajpayee and his earlier portrayals in Sanju and PM Narendra Modi.
- When
- The article follows the show's release and Vajpayee's eighth death anniversary, observed today, August 16; Vajpayee died on August 16, 2018.
- Where
- India; the six-episode series depicts events of the 1999 Kargil War fought between India and Pakistan and streams on Netflix.
- Why
- The story highlights Srivastav's acclaimed portrayal of a major historical figure and his repeated casting as Vajpayee, amid renewed attention on the war drama.
- Series
- Operation Safed Sagar
- Platform
- Netflix
- Director
- Onir Sen
- Setting
- 1999 Kargil War between India and Pakistan
- Episodes
- Six
- Cast
- Siddharth, Jimmy Shergill, Dia Mirza, Amrita Bagchi, Abhay Verma, Mihir Ahuja, Prajaka Koli, Taaruk Raina, Adil Hussain
- Aanjjan Srivastav's role
- Atal Bihari Vajpayee, then-Indian Prime Minister
- Vajpayee's death
- Died August 16, 2018, at age 98; eighth death anniversary observed today