What playing a fighter pilot on 'Operation Safed Sagar' taught Arnav Bhasin about people behind the uniform

Arnav Bhasin said that playing Flying Officer Amit Gupta—nicknamed “Goofy”—in the series Operation Safed Sagar changed how he viewed pilots beyond the uniform. The actor spent time at Air Force stations, observed officers away from formal duty, and even sat inside MiG aircraft that have since been decommissioned. Bhasin described the show as focusing on the human side of fighter pilots, contrasting the usual patriotic lens with a clearer look at the people behind it. He said informal interactions helped him understand the difference between disciplined professionalism on the job and more relaxed behavior off-duty. His research highlighted the years of training, physics, and mathematics required to reach the cockpit, and impressed him most was pilots’ understated confidence, which he found humbling.