Janhvi Kapoor, who recently shared the first look of the biopic titled Gunjan Saxena - The Kargil Girl, Instagrammed a heart-warming note for the real life "hero.'' In 1999, Flight Lieutenant Gunjan Saxena and Flight Lieutenant Srividya Rajan were India's first women combat aviators who operated in the Kargil war zone on tiny IAF Cheetah helicopters. Towards the end of the war, NDTV's Vishnu Som and camera person Manvendar Gautam flew with Gunjan from Uddhampur air base in describing the role of these two heroic women. A few years back, the director of the film, Saran Sharma reached out to Vishnu Som for details on the role of Flt Lt. Saxena and Flt Lt. Rajan. Saxena, who was in touch with Vishnu Som, had retired from the IAF, and was happy to speak to Mr. Sharma. Over the next few years, a partnership between Dharma Productions and Flt. Lt Gunjan Saxena (retired) was established paving the way for the filming of Gunjan Saxena - The Kargil Girl with Janhvi Kapoor picked to star as Gunjan Saxena.
NDTV has interviewed Flt Lt Gunjan Saxena not only in 1999 but also in 2016 on the seventeenth anniversary of the Kargil war where she recounted her experiences of the conflict. Her brother, an Army officer, was serving on the Kargil battle front at the same time.
Sharing a photo with the former Indian Air Force officer, Janhvi Kapoor wrote: "Happy Birthday, Gunjan mam! Thank you for teaching me the true meaning of bravery, the importance of working hard and sincerely and for paving the way for millions of women in our country. You're an inspiration and a hero, without ever having tried to be. Your story has helped me believe in myself, and hopefully will help others too." In the photo, Janhvi is dressed in an IAF uniform, just like her character in the movie.
Let's take a look at Janhvi's post here:
And now, here's Vishnu Som's coverage of Gunjan Saxena and Srividya Rajan from 2016. You can watch the video here:
A screenshot of Flt Lt Gunjan Saxena from NDTV's 1999 report on India's first women combat aviators.
Karan Johar, who is producing Gunjan Saxena - The Kargil Girl, also shared the same photo to wish Gunjan Saxena on her birthday: "Happy birthday Gunjan Ma'am! Your unwavering courage and bravery has inspired generations gone and more to come. Thank you for entrusting us with your journey to be shown on the big screen!" Fans loved Janhvi Kapoor's look as Gunjan Saxena when the first look posters were released. "She was told 'Ladkiyan pilot nahin banti', but she stood her ground and wanted to fly," Karan Johar tweeted.
Happy birthday Gunjan Ma'am! Your unwavering courage and bravery has inspired generations gone and more to come. Thank you for entrusting us with your journey to be shown on the big screen!pic.twitter.com/A6BnXWuNxR
— Karan Johar (@karanjohar) August 31, 2019
She was told ladkiyan pilot nahin banti, but she stood her ground & wanted to fly! Gunjan Saxena - #TheKargilGirl releasing on 13th March, 2020. @apoorvamehta18 @shariqpatel #Janhvi @TripathiiPankaj @Imangadbedi @ItsVineetSingh #ManavVij @sharansharma @DharmaMovies @ZeeStudios_ pic.twitter.com/YNhHilUCyx
— Karan Johar (@karanjohar) August 29, 2019
Janhvi Kapoor co-stars with Pankaj Tripathi, Angad Bedi, Vineet Kumar and Manav Vij in Gunjan Saxena - The Kargil Girl. The film is directed by Sharan Sharma, who has also co-written the script with Nikhil Mehrotra.
Gunjan Saxena - The Kargil Girl releases on March 13, next year.
