Film Summary of Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl
Saanvi Kunisetty
The film Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl takes place in 1999, during the duration of the Kargil War. This war raged between India and Pakistan, taking place mainly in the Kargil District of Kashmir. A few Pakistani soldiers who disguised themselves as Indians and crossed the Line of Control (border between India and Pakistan) sometime in the Spring of 1999. This ignited the Indian’s anger, and fueled the Kargil War.
In this film specifically, an Indian girl named Gunjan has always wanted to be a pilot after witnessing her first plane ride in a cockpit at a young age. While her brother and mother urge her to let go of her dreams and get married (under the belief that women are somehow inferior to men), her dad always supports her passion. Following the guidance of her dad’s teaching, Gunjan excels in her studies, and is eager to finally become a pilot. When her mother refuses to allow her, Gunjan’s dad joins her in the Air Force. Gunjan is ecstatic at this prospect, and arrives at the Air Force academy.
But things prove to be harder than Gunjan anticipated. When being checked for her health to see if she is eligible to fly the plane, she finds out that she weighs a bit too much, and is also a centimeter shorter than she needs to be. Dejected, Gunjan heads home with no hope. But, her father forces her to work out day and night, and maintain a diet so that she loses weight. Luckily, when she is checked again, she has grown tall enough, and has lost enough weight. Filled with joy, Gunjan begins her training at the academy.
Similar to her elder brother’s warning, all the men in the academy proceed to show Gunjan that there is no place for women here. From not allowing her to fly during practice time, to making her run from building to building just to use a restroom, to mistreating her in every way possible, the men in the academy taunt her incessantly. At last, she meets an instructor willing to guide her in flying the plane. Unfortunately, the taunting gets to her at one point, and she heads home with the decision that she wants to get married.
Her father is revolted, let down, and infuriated by Gunjan’s decision. He questions her passion for flying, and how she could give up her dreams so easily. Once again, he motivates her to go back, to be the first one to try something new, to stand out among others, to set a new norm, and to show people around the world that women can do whatever men can do too.
Back at the Academy, Gunjan is sent to Kashmir as part of the Air Force during the Kargil War. Once again, she is looked upon with no respect, and is not assigned any missions. A call then comes in saying that some Indians are trapped by Pakistanis, and the Air Force must come and rescue them. The commanders have no choice but to appoint Gunjan for the mission, as all the men are out on other missions. So Gunjan flies in valiantly, and despite the commanders ordering her to cease the mission because it has become too dangerous due to the Pakistani Air Force, she flies in, saves the Indian civilians, and returns with them.
The film ends with the rest of her air force and army peers, including her own brother who despised the idea of her becoming a pilot, applauding her for her audacity against adversity.
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