Archive · 18 Aug 2026
Mihir Ahuja on Operation Safed Sagar: Shooting in MiG-21 cockpits
Mihir Ahuja is an actor in India who plays a fighter pilot in a new Netflix show called Operation Safed Sagar.
The show is about a real war called the Kargil War that happened in 1999 between India and Pakistan.
Mihir was only one year old when the war happened.
To make the show, the actors worked with the real Indian Air Force.
They even got to sit inside real fighter jets called MiG-21s that were used in the war.
Mihir said sitting in the cockpit was very hard because the space is tiny and the G-force is so strong it is hard to breathe.
He said he has huge respect for real pilots because their job is not easy.
The show also tells stories about the pilots' families, like wives and girlfriends waiting at home.
Mihir hopes viewers see that soldiers are brave but also human, with personal struggles.
He thinks the show is great because it shows both the war and the pilots' personal lives.
Mihir Ahuja plays Flying Officer CH Bal Reddy, aka Baldy, in the Netflix military drama Operation Safed Sagar, directed by Onir Sen.
The show, made in collaboration with the Indian Air Force, is set during the 1999 Kargil War between India and Pakistan.
Mihir and his castmates sat in the cockpits of actual MiG-21 jets used in the Kargil War, which were decommissioned after filming.
Mihir said the G-force in the jets is so high it is tough to breathe, and shooting in the 4-feet wide cockpit was claustrophobic.
The series also focuses on pilots' personal lives, including Prajakta Koli's Madhavi and Amrita Bagchi's Alka, widow of Kargil martyr Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja.
- Who
- Actor Mihir Ahuja, who plays Flying Officer CH Bal Reddy (Baldy) in Operation Safed Sagar, alongside co-stars including Prajakta Koli, Taaruk Raina, and Amrita Bagchi.
- What
- Mihir discussed shooting the Netflix military drama Operation Safed Sagar, including sitting in the cockpits of decommissioned MiG-21 jets used in the Kargil War.
- When
- The show is set during the 1999 Kargil War; the interview comes about 27 years after the war ended.
- Where
- Filmed at Indian Air Force stations, including one in Bikaner, Rajasthan.
- Why
- To share his experience of portraying an IAF officer and highlight the courage of the pilots who fought in the Kargil War.
- Show
- Operation Safed Sagar
- Platform
- Netflix India
- Director
- Onir Sen
- Mihir Ahuja's role
- Flying Officer CH Bal Reddy (Baldy)
- Setting
- 1999 Kargil War
- Made in collaboration with
- Indian Air Force
- Filming location
- Air force stations including Bikaner, Rajasthan
- Jets featured
- Decommissioned MiG-21s used in the Kargil War