Gunjan Saxena: IAF officer who trained 1st batch of women IAF pilots says 'movie is far from truth'

Janhvi Kapoor starrer 'Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl' is making the headlines again. Now the Retired Wing Commander IK Khanna, who trained the Indian Air Force’s first batch of female pilots claimed that the movie is far away from the truth. Read our review here

In a column for a news agency, the ex-officer said, ''I was one of the instructors back in July 1994 when the first batch of seven women pilots arrived at the Air Force Station at Yelahanka, Bengaluru, to commence training on IAF transport aircraft. There was excitement in the media, as there is now. But the station was preparing to receive the women in the same way as it would have received a batch of trainee men''.

Also read: Gunjan Saxena' controversy: NCW head asks makers to discontinue the screening of film

As shown in the movie, Gunjan deal with a lot of trouble in her initial days like there were no changing room for women officers. He said, ''There were subtle changes made such as preparing a changing-cum-rest room. No one had to run to their room to change as shown in Gunjan Saxena. There was no doubt, however, that the women would be treated the same way at work professionally, as IAF trainee pilots, socially as a lady, and one amongst equals everywhere else. No quarters were given, none were expected'', he claims.

And by talking about his other trainees of the cadet, General said, ''Talk to any one of them, and they’ll tell you how far Gunjan Saxena is from the truth''. During the training of the first batch of women pilots at Yelahanka, not a day would pass when the media would not visit to interview the women and see them in action.

Also read: Indian Air Force writes to CBFC objecting to some scenes in 'Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl'

Earlier, many ex-officers slammed the movie and from one of them, Sandhya Suri, who was among the first women officers at air force, said the film has nothing to do with the real character of Gunjan. "It projects the armed forces in a bad light. It never happens the way it has been shown," the ex-officer told.