Father fought in Kargil, son is in Op Safed Sagar: Meet Captain Akshat Saxena

Wing Commander Pankaj Saxena was a Mirage pilot who served with several Mirage squadrons.

Nearly three decades on, Captain Akshat has returned to that chapter of his life — this time on screen.

A former commercial airline pilot, Akshat appears in Netflix’s Operation Safed Sagar, playing an Air Traffic Controller whose role is integral to the operations depicted in the series.

“The role carries a little more weight for me than an ordinary acting assignment. There is a professional connection to aviation, there is the personal history of growing up in an Air Force family. And there is the memory of my father who once left home for the same conflict that I along with others helped recreate for an audience,” Akshat said with a sense of happiness in his voice.

Akshat’s father, a National Defence Academy cadet, was commissioned into the Indian Air Force in 1981. A Mirage pilot who served with several Mirage squadrons, Wing Commander Saxena was an examiner when the Kargil conflict unfolded. As the war continued, he was asked to report to a forward base.

He passed away following a cardiac arrest in July 2022.

For Akshat, there is a coincidence that makes his role in Operation Safed Sagar even more personal.

“December 27 is my father’s birthday. So my last flying day as a pilot was December 27, 2023… and exactly a year later, on December 27, 2024, I shot my first scene for Safed Sagar. I feel it is pure coincidence, and maybe also a grace from my dad,” said Akshat. “I hope he is always proud of me.”

Sangeeta said the family’s connection with the Air Force continued through their children. “After Pankaj retired from the Air Force, he joined a private airline. There was a time when my husband and kids donned the same uniform,”

“To see Akshat in the Air Force uniform and on the screen filled my heart with pride. Life indeed comes full circle in some ways,” she added.

Captain Akshat Saxena

From the cockpit to the screen

Akshat spent more than a decade as a commercial pilot before quitting and turning to theatre and acting. He said he always knew he wanted to try his hands at it.

He acted in a play called Delirious in Gurgaon. After that show, someone contacted him saying the makers of Safed Sagar might be interested in casting him for a role in the series.

The person who reached out already knew about his background as a pilot. He later auditioned and got the role.

“The world I had grown up around, one I had experienced from the cockpit of a commercial aircraft, was once again a part of my life, this time in front of a camera,” said Akshat.

There is a certain inevitability to Akshat’s relationship with flying. He said he knew from a very young age, when he saw his father flying, that he wanted to be a pilot. So did his younger brother, Captain Aman Saxena, who is with a leading airline.

“The first ambition, naturally, was the Indian Air Force. But, somehow, the idea of wanting to travel the world and fly big aircraft took me towards becoming a commercial pilot,” he said.

‘Fighter controllers are equally important’

Although Akshat would have liked to play a pilot, he said the role of a fighter controller is just as important.

“Fighter controllers are equally important and impactful in any situation. In the world of military aviation, the relationship between the fighter pilot and the controller is intensely collaborative. The controller is watching, guiding and communicating as the action unfolds in real time,” he explained.

Akshat described them as being “hand-in-glove” with the fighter pilots, almost like best friends, because they’re both working against the same clock, with the same urgency, and with very little room for error.

A still of Akshat from the Netflix show

‘Donning the uniform a dream come true’

One of his most memorable moments while shooting was being on set with his mentor, Adil Hussain, who plays Air Marshal Vinod Patney in the series.

“Donning the Air Force uniform was a dream come true. Being around Adil sir was special and sharing screen space with actors like Jimmy Shergill and Siddharth was an amazing feeling. Not only are they great actors but also thorough professionals,” said Akshat.

He also has fond memories of the Air Force growing up like the tradition of bouncing, when young officers would land up at their seniors’ homes at any time of the day.

“I’ve seen my mother cook for 30 YO’s (young officers). We also had a television and VCR back in the days and my father would bring a lot of movies. From bachelors drinking beer to milk and Horlicks to helping my mom in the kitchen, it was a great sight to watch,” he said.

“Every third day it would happen,” he laughed.