Archive · 8 Aug 2026
Ganguly, Kumble Recall Kargil War in Netflix's Operation Safed Sagar
In the summer of 1999, something very special happened in India.
The country's cricket team went to England to play in the Cricket World Cup.
Millions of people cheered for them on television.
But at the same time, there was a war happening high up in the mountains of Kargil.
The Indian Air Force sent young fighter pilots to fly in very dangerous conditions.
That mission was called Operation Safed Sagar.
A Netflix show with the same name tells the story of these brave pilots and their squadron, the Golden Arrows.
Two famous cricketers, Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble, talk about how the cricket team and the air force both represented India that summer.
They say the pilots were the real heroes.
The show wants everyone to know this important part of India's history.
Operation Safed Sagar is a Netflix series about the Indian Air Force's historic aerial operation during the 1999 Kargil War.
The show tells the story of the Golden Arrows Squadron, young air warriors who flew in the world's highest air operation.
Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble recall representing India at the 1999 Cricket World Cup in England while the Kargil War was unfolding back home.
Ganguly called Indian Air Force officers "our real heroes" who represented India in the skies under unimaginable circumstances.
Directed by Oni Sen, the series stars Siddharth, Jimmy Shergill, Dia Mirza, Prajakta Koli and Adil Hussain, among others.
- Who
- Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble, who played for Team India at the 1999 Cricket World Cup, and the young fighter pilots of the Indian Air Force's Golden Arrows Squadron.
- What
- A Netflix series, Operation Safed Sagar, dramatizing the Indian Air Force's aerial operation during the Kargil War, described as the world's highest air operation.
- When
- The summer of 1999, when the Kargil War and the Cricket World Cup overlapped (the series release date is not stated in the article).
- Where
- The skies over Kargil, India, and the Cricket World Cup in England.
- Why
- To bring to light an untold chapter of the Indian Air Force's role in the Kargil War and honour the young air warriors.
- Series
- Operation Safed Sagar
- Platform
- Netflix
- Subject
- Indian Air Force's aerial operation during the 1999 Kargil War
- Focus
- Golden Arrows Squadron, the world's highest air operation
- Director
- Oni Sen
- Created by
- Abhijeet Singh Parmar and Kushal Srivastava
- Produced by
- Sanjay Routray and Sarita Patil (Matchbox Shots LLP) and Mehboob Pal Singh Brar (Feel Good Films)
- Cast includes
- Siddharth, Jimmy Shergill, Abhay Verma, Dia Mirza, Prajakta Koli, Adil Hussain, Mihir Ahuja, Taaruk Raina, Arnav Bhasin, Amrita Bagchi