IAF Officer Sreevidya Rajan Claims Gunjan Saxena Told Makers She Wasn't The Only Female Officer During Kargil

Guran Saxena: The Kargil Girl has come under the radar of the Indian Air Force that has now written to the Central Board of Film Certification claiming the film to portrays the organization discriminatory and in an undue negative light. The Janhvi Kapoor starrer biopic on the first female airforce pilot who fought in the Kargil War, the film has since been marred by controversy with many calling it out of factual inaccuracies.  

Former IAF officer Sreevidya Ranjan who was Gunjan Saxena’s colleague in the IAF also claimed that she was the first female officer to fly in the Kargil War and also slammed the film. She has now alleviated the blame from Gunjan and has fixed her disappointment on Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions for changing historical facts.

In a long chat with Mid-Day Sreevidya revealed that she holds no grudges against Gunjan and on being asked why she never spoke up two years ago when the movie was announced proclaiming Gunjan as the first IAF female officer she stated, "When Gunjan and I met at a party in 2017, I had asked her about the film and she had categorically said that it's her life story. I cannot question a filmmaker why they chose her and not me. When I saw her being portrayed as the first woman pilot, my friends and colleagues suggested I respond to it. But I thought as long as the story inspires women to join the forces, I am happy.”

She also explained that she recently spoke to Gunjan who she claims told her that the filmmakers were informed that it was not just Gunjan but there were the two of them. “She doesn't know why they changed the fact. I told her it was an oversight on her and the filmmakers' part to not reflect me at all," added Ranjan.

Sreevidya also told that Gunjan was a part of the second crew that flew to the frontlines but was the first to given an interview people assumed she was the first. She also lashed out at makers for their irresponsible depiction of the IAF as a gender-biased organization.

Talking about if the film strained her relationship with Gunjan she concluded, "I have nothing against her. She is a woman of achievements that haven't even made it to the film. Neither Gunjan nor I will throw muck at each other on a public platform. When you have served in a war together, you are like siblings. A film can never come between us."