Mumbai, July 30 — Actor Jimmy Sheirgill has described his upcoming Netflix series Operation Safed Sagar as a project that selected him rather than the other way around, calling it a vehicle for recounting a pivotal chapter of the 1999 Kargil conflict.

The series dramatises the combined arms operation conducted by the Indian Air Force in support of the Indian Army during the Kargil war. The mission sought to dislodge regular and irregular Pakistani troops from positions they had occupied in the Kargil sector along the Line of Control. It marked the first large-scale use of air power in the Jammu and Kashmir region since the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War.

Speaking to IANS alongside co-actors Siddharth, Arnav Bhasin and Mihir Ahuja, Sheirgill reflected on the nature of such productions. “I think when there are such projects, they choose us. We feel that our responsibility is to work hard with the characters we are given. The team is good. Creators are good. And the actors are hardworking. We don’t even know how long it takes because we shoot extensively. It’s not something that is in chunks. Like we were talking about the cockpit. The whole setup of the cockpit took almost a month to prepare. After that our shooting started. So there were such gaps,” he said.

Asked what first attracted him to the material, Sheirgill pointed to the screenplay and the director’s involvement. “I think the first thing was the script. You like the concept of the script. After that, when you are writing for your character, you try to put yourself into that situation and see what you are doing in it. And also, the director is very important. He was on it. That was a big plus point because I knew him for a long time. We were supposed to do a film together, which we didn’t have in the script.”

He added that the project’s scale and platform carried additional weight. “I think at some point, hopefully, we were in it. So, it gives you confidence that the script is good. I don’t think Netflix has done this before. That was also a big plus point.”

Operation Safed Sagar is scheduled to begin streaming on Netflix on August 7. The production’s emphasis on detailed set construction, including an elaborate cockpit environment that required nearly a month of preparation, underscores the technical demands of portraying aerial combat and wartime operations with authenticity.

Sheirgill’s remarks frame the series as both a professional challenge and a responsibility to convey a significant military episode to a wider audience. By positioning the project as one that “chose” its cast, he highlighted the sense of purpose that can accompany historically grounded storytelling. The involvement of a familiar director and the novelty of the subject matter for the streaming platform further reinforced his decision to take part.

As the series prepares for release, it joins a growing body of Indian screen narratives that revisit the Kargil conflict, this time focusing specifically on the air force’s contribution to the campaign.

Mumbai, July 30 — Actor Jimmy Sheirgill has described his upcoming Netflix series Operation Safed Sagar as a project that selected him rather than the other way around, calling it a vehicle for recounting a pivotal chapter of the 1999 Kargil conflict.

The series dramatises the combined arms operation conducted by the Indian Air Force in support of the Indian Army during the Kargil war. The mission sought to dislodge regular and irregular Pakistani troops from positions they had occupied in the Kargil sector along the Line of Control. It marked the first large-scale use of air power in the Jammu and Kashmir region since the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War.

Speaking to IANS alongside co-actors Siddharth, Arnav Bhasin and Mihir Ahuja, Sheirgill reflected on the nature of such productions. “I think when there are such projects, they choose us. We feel that our responsibility is to work hard with the characters we are given. The team is good. Creators are good. And the actors are hardworking. We don’t even know how long it takes because we shoot extensively. It’s not something that is in chunks. Like we were talking about the cockpit. The whole setup of the cockpit took almost a month to prepare. After that our shooting started. So there were such gaps,” he said.

Asked what first attracted him to the material, Sheirgill pointed to the screenplay and the director’s involvement. “I think the first thing was the script. You like the concept of the script. After that, when you are writing for your character, you try to put yourself into that situation and see what you are doing in it. And also, the director is very important. He was on it. That was a big plus point because I knew him for a long time. We were supposed to do a film together, which we didn’t have in the script.”

He added that the project’s scale and platform carried additional weight. “I think at some point, hopefully, we were in it. So, it gives you confidence that the script is good. I don’t think Netflix has done this before. That was also a big plus point.”

Operation Safed Sagar is scheduled to begin streaming on Netflix on August 7. The production’s emphasis on detailed set construction, including an elaborate cockpit environment that required nearly a month of preparation, underscores the technical demands of portraying aerial combat and wartime operations with authenticity.

Sheirgill’s remarks frame the series as both a professional challenge and a responsibility to convey a significant military episode to a wider audience. By positioning the project as one that “chose” its cast, he highlighted the sense of purpose that can accompany historically grounded storytelling. The involvement of a familiar director and the novelty of the subject matter for the streaming platform further reinforced his decision to take part.

As the series prepares for release, it joins a growing body of Indian screen narratives that revisit the Kargil conflict, this time focusing specifically on the air force’s contribution to the campaign.