The second we heard that Karan Johar had bought the rights to make a film on India’s first woman combat aviator, our mind flew to just which lucky heroine would be cast in the role of the dashing Gunjan Saxena. Alia Bhatt is the first name that springs to mind; she is Karan’s absolute favourite, the fledgling he nursed and launched himself five years ago.

Karan and Alia share a bond that has only grown stronger over the years. She calls him her ‘father beyond my biological father’, and he is her source of advice for all matters professional and personal. Karan is also a fierce believer in Alia’s talent and it is stands to good reason that he would wish for her to essay this stunning role of a real hero…

Not so quickly though – there’s also the delectable Deepika Padukone! We have been witness to the very warm vibes that have sprung up of late between B-wood’s No.1 and the Dharma head honcho. Besides, the physicality and grit that Deepika would bring to the role cannot be discounted.

Or then, will an unexpected name altogether come in and snatch this sizzler of a role?
Any actress would give an arm and a leg to play Gunjan, among the few women pilots in the IAF, who had guided her helicopter, dodging artillery shells through the steep valleys of Kargil as a Flying Officer in the Indian Air Force. The first ever woman lady pilot of the Indian Air Force who proved her mettle in Operation Vijay, the then 24-year-old’s name has gone down in IAF history books as the ‘Kargil Girl’. She had flown her Cheetah helicopter in extremely hostile terrain to retrieve injured soldiers in the Kargil War.

“I could not wait to be called,” she had said later, about her mission during which over 10 sorties, she air-dropped vital supplies to troops at higher points in the Dras and Batalik sectors. Outlook magazine had reported how she had also picked up “the dead and wounded from jagged mountain edges where flying a chopper requires an inordinate amount of skill, all while escaping Pakistani gunfire and missiles from below.”

“There is no problem about gender as all of us get the same opportunities,” she had shared. “Initially the people were a little stunned, but now they are used to it.” Back in 1994, Gunjan had become one of the 25 young women comprising the first batch of women IAF trainee pilots.

Now that’s a role worth facing bullets for!