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How Filmmakers Captured Operation Sindoor’s Military Decision-Makers
Declassified: Operation Sindoor is a two-part documentary about an Indian military operation in May 2025.
The operation followed the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22.
It began on May 7 and lasted 88 hours.
The filmmakers spoke with people who helped plan and carry out the operation.
These included National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and the heads of the Army, Navy and Air Force.
The documentary shows both military decisions and the human feelings connected to the attack.
It uses interviews, operational footage, photographs and older archival material.
The filmmakers say it is not an official investigation, but a record of the experiences of people directly involved.
Discovery’s two-part documentary reconstructs India’s 88-hour Operation Sindoor through firsthand accounts.
The series features National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and senior Army, Navy and Air Force leaders.
Directors Prabhu Asgaonkar and Manika Berry used trust and existing military-media relationships to secure access.
The filmmakers conducted open-ended interviews and combined them with operational footage, photographs and archival material.
The documentary premiered on Discovery and discovery+ on August 15 and may be screened in military units and schools.
- Who
- Directors Prabhu Asgaonkar and Manika Berry made the documentary, with participation from Ajit Doval, senior military chiefs and other personnel.
- What
- A two-part Discovery documentary reconstructing Operation Sindoor through firsthand accounts and supporting footage.
- Where
- The documentary is available on Discovery and discovery+ and follows events from military war rooms to areas closer to the frontline.
- When
- It premiered on August 15; Operation Sindoor began on May 7, 2025, after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.
- Why
- The filmmakers wanted to show the operation from the perspective of people directly involved and emphasize its human as well as strategic dimensions.
Key facts
- Documentary
- Declassified: Operation Sindoor
- Format
- Two-part documentary series
- Operation duration
- 88 hours
- Operation start
- May 7, 2025
- Triggering event
- The Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, 2025
- Premiere
- August 15 on Discovery and discovery+
- Possible future screenings
- Military units and schools
Quotes
Nitin A Gokhale
Founder of BharatShakti, producer of the documentary
“They are still speaking the same language. You see that the same passion is there. And what they have gone through.”
indianexpress.com
“If that is the case, then I must bring in a strategic politico‑military underpinning to the film.”
indianexpress.com
Manika Berry
Co‑director of Declassified: Operation Sindoor
“What Prabhu and I found was that we were still not somehow getting the pulse of the operation. We really wanted to get inside the operation and see it from the inside rather than just have people tell us from the outside what happened.”
indianexpress.com
Sources
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