Bollywood Hungama

Abhay Verma opens up about his connection with Operation Safed Sagar; says, I wanted to become a pilot

Abhay Verma is set to appear in the upcoming Netflix series Operation Safed Sagar, which highlights the role played by the Indian Air Force during the Kargil War. As the show approaches its release, the actor spoke about his personal connection to the story. I think you cannot not know about Kargil, even if you dont know about the war, Verma said, expressing surprise that it was the name of a small village before 1999, one that was relatively unknown. A war happened there, we won, and then it became what it became. So, its quite incredible, he said. Verma said he felt connected to everything that is related to my country, for some reason or the other. And maybe I wanted to become a pilot when I was in school, so perhaps that was one of the reasons, he said. When I got to know about the entire operation that the Air Force had carried out, I was like, This can actually happen, and this has happened. And this is the reason why my family and I have been sleeping peacefully all these nights. The reason I had a peaceful childhood is because the Air Force was there and they carried out this mission. I said, Wow. Thats what it is, he added. Highlighting the sacrifices made by Air Force officers, Verma said, Making the kind of sacrifices that Air Force officers do and asking for nothing in return, not even recognition, is incredible. As actors, we always crave recognition, and I dont know how to live without it. So, doing everything for the country and then not asking for anything in return is just the biggest sacrifice. I dont think thats human enough. Its almost godly. So, the emotional connection came right through that. Directed by Oni Sen, the series is created by Abhijeet Singh Parmar and Kushal Srivastava, and produced by Sanjay Routray and Sarita Patil of Matchbox Shots LLP along with Mehboob Pal Singh Brar of Feel Good Films. The ensemble cast features Siddharth, Jimmy Shergill, Abhay Verma, Dia Mirza, Prajakta Koli, Adil Hussain, Mihir Ahuja, Taaruk Raina, Arnav Bhasin, and Amrita Bagchi. The series premieres on August 7, exclusively on Netflix. Also Read: Abhay Verma recalls getting emotional while wearing an Air Force uniform for Operation Safed Sagar: I got teary-eyed