When a guy, who almost became a fighter pilot, offers you a film on the Indian Air Force (IAF), you don’t say no. That’s what Telugu actor Varun Tej believes. It is this belief that has birthed Operation Valentine, directed by Shakti Pratap Singh.

“Shakti had applied [to the IAF], but didn’t get through because of his [compromised] eyesight. He has done a lot of research for this film. He’d constantly say one thing—that he wanted Operation Valentine to be technical. We knew we had to tone down the film for the masses, but it’s not a dumb film,” states the actor.

The action thriller, also starring Manushi Chhillar, traces the Balakot air strike conducted by the IAF in 2019. He isn’t worried about the subject being over-exploited, the latest example being Hrithik Roshan’s Fighter.

“Our script was submitted to the Ministry of Defence [MoD] for approval. We were told that nine to 12 scripts, based on the same events, were awaiting clearance. We did not know about Fighter or Tejas [2023] until their [promos] came out, and by then, we were making our film. The MoD made changes to the script because they technically don’t function the way we had written the story. Initially, it was planned as a Telugu film. But I wanted it to resonate with everyone, so [we made it in Hindi as well]. [Making such films] is about inspiring a generation of men and women to be heroic. There is so much happening at the border; it’s important to bring that to the big screen.”

A jawan’s duty is to protect his country, not to hate his adversary. Are today’s movies truly reflecting the spirit of the armed forces, without adopting a jingoistic tone? Tej explains, “We are mindful of the jingoism, but there is always a threat from another country. China, Bangladesh and Pakistan are threats that we must keep in check. That’s the only extent to which we take this film, keeping it close to the incident it is based on. Our idea was to show how a pilot sitting in the cockpit makes the decision to go 2,000 kilometres into a neighbouring country.”

That Fighter didn’t fare well at the box office could be a worrisome precursor. The actor says, “There are people who have passionately spent on this project, and I want them to make a buck. [It can] pave the way for more passionate projects.”

As a generation that has grown up on Top Gun (1986), Bollywood movie fans have often desired a desi counterpart. Similarly, actors like the idea of fronting a story about the Indian Air Force (IAF)—from Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone in Fighter, to Manushi Chhillar in the upcoming Operation Valentine. Chhillar says it was the glory of the men and women in the uniform that drew her to the Varun Tej-led action thriller, even though she was initially told the role was of an Air Force officer’s wife.

“My agent told me, ‘She is an Air Force officer’s wife waiting for him to come back home.’ As I read the script on a flight, I kept turning the pages wondering where the wife was, but she was [so much more],” laughs the leading lady, before adding, “A film centred on the air force is always about action. But Operation Valentine is also a poignant story about human relationships and the officers’ camaraderie.”

By design, films about the Armed Forces offer little scope to their female characters. But the actor was delighted to see that director Shakti Pratap Singh Hada had developed a strong arc for her part, making her a radar controller.

“I was mentally ready for the brief of a supportive wife. But in the script, I met a wife who goes along with her husband to war. I am a DRDO [Defence Research and Development Organisation] kid, and my uncle is in the army. I grew up around these families. It is a fact that many women, who work in the Armed Forces, get married to the men in the profession. That dynamic is beautifully reflected in the film. Also, now, we have many more women in the force. A year ago, we had the first female fighter pilot of the IAF. Things are changing, and that is shown in our movies.”

In her second film after Samrat Prithviraj (2022), the actor is proud to portray a strong-willed woman. “My character, Wing Commander Ahana Gill, is inspired by a real-life officer who was on set with us. As a radar controller, my character has to make rational decisions, within milliseconds, [that will determine] whether her pilot will be alive or not.”