Original subtitles

Boys, from today, we will start high-altitude bombing trials.

We will climb to 30,000 feet well before the target sector.

Above the clouds and out of their missile range.

But remember, no one in the world has tried this on mountains.

The peaks we want to target,

their flat top will not be more than 200 meters.

We have dumb bombs that will go at jet speed.

Therefore, the release altitude, jet speed, and GPS position

must be extremely accurate so that the bombs land directly

on this narrow 200-meter target.

If the release is even a second late,

the bomb will miss the target peak and fall into the valley ahead.

And if we release the bombs too early in the heat of the moment,

they could fall into the valley before the target,

right where our own soldiers are positioned.

So, boys, in this mission, neither we nor our machines can afford to fail.

Man and machine must operate as one.

Trident, check position.

Hercules 2.

Hercules 2, Joker.

Did he say "Hercules"?

Please confirm.

Correction. I'm sorry. I meant, Trident approaching release point.

Wasn't Hercules Ahuja's radio call sign?

Yes, sir.

Maybe… Maybe he just said it by mistake.

Trident releasing bombs in five,

four, three, two, one.

Now. Bombs away.

Seven forty.

Bomb off target. Radial error, 1230.

Bomb off target, sir.

Radial error, 1230. Linear error, 740 meters.

Let's keep going.

Let's see the difference recorded by the other sorties.

Five, four,

three, two, one.

Now! Bombs away!

Bomb off target.

Bombs away!

You're a long way off, Tony. Linearly and radially.

Sir, many of the variables needs to be factored in.

We'll get there soon.

Your soon is already too late for the Army.

I want a hard commitment.

- One week, ten days, just tell me-- - Three days, sir.

We'll be ready in three days, sir.

All right. On the fourth day, I will consider this trial a failure.

Sir.

What? You don't want to do it?

Everyone outside this room thinks that this strategy is useless.

If you guys think the same, just let me know.

Sir, none of us here have any doubts about your strategy.

If we hadn't just hard-committed three days

for the extrapolation of the parameters

and met charts, then I think we still had a chance.

Exactly, sir.

For such complex calculations and all,

three days are practically a little less, sir.

Our army has been fighting a war for the last one month,

and three days are too less for you?

Hmm?

Do you even know

that just to recapture some of the peaks from the Tololing complex,

they have been fighting for three weeks?

How many senior officers and how many soldiers have been martyred?

Do you even have a clue?

At the height of 16,000 feet,

minus 10-degree temperatures, with less oxygen,

they are climbing with 25 kilos of ration and ammunition on their backs.

They don't have any cover.

They are directly in the enemy's line of sight.

Before they start, they think

that maybe they should carry less rations so that they can carry more ammunition.

Maybe it'll help.

And even if they keep crawling through the night

and somehow manage to reach there after dodging enemy bullets,

they would still need the energy for hand-to-hand combat.

Where will they get this energy from?

In spite of knowing all this, they're still fighting.

Right now, they're fighting to avenge our brave martyred brothers,

and they're fighting to show the Pakistan Army and their politicians

that we Indians are not going to offer our mountains to you on a platter.

The Indian Army is getting crushed

- and you guys are-- - Sir, we'll do it.

Come what may, we'll do this, sir.

- Boys? - We'll do it, sir!

The Indian Army is depending on the Indian Air Force…

and the Indian Air Force depends on us.

Do whatever calculations you need to do.

Don't think of it as just three days. You have 72 hours.

This time, neither can our machines fail nor can we. Let's get them.

We owe this to Ahuja.

Arrows, we need to set up a proper workflow.

We'll need the weather data from the Met Department.

But I have already given Chou sir the data for the month of June.

Not just this June's data, but we need data of every June for the last ten years.

I'll feed all the data along with all of the variables into the computer,

and calculate the ideal bomb release point.

We'll keep on calculating and we'll keep dropping bombs.

And we'll keep at it till we get it right.

Griffin, bombs away.

Bombs away!

Arrow, bombs away!

What the hell are we missing, guys? What the hell are we missing?

Sir, all parameters are accounted for. Winds, speed, temperature, met chart--

Baldy, your calculations are absolutely correct.

But somehow, our bombs are still falling way ahead of our target.

Sir, there is one thing.

At the altitude 30,000 feet, the air should be much thinner, right?

Right, sir.

Air density.

Baldy,

try multiplying the formula of air density with rho by rho zero.

Sir.

Sangy.

- Jai Hind, sir. - Welcome back.

Thank you, sir.

Dhali.

Hercules 2, breaking off.

We all need some help, Dhali.

Hercules 2, fuel check.

He should have released the bomb by now. Check status.

Trident, check position.

Trident, release point overshot. I'm sorry. Can I please do another pass?

What the hell is Dhali doing? Tell him to come back.

Negative, Trident. Return to base.

Trident returning to base.

Adonis, bombs away!

Now, bombs away!

Bombs away!

Sir, linear error, 450 meters.

And radially, we're sharp at twelve o'clock.

Let's do one thing, Baldy,

I think we should fine-tune the forward-throw formula.

- We'll find something there. - Sure, sir.

Yes, Dhali?

Sir, I got distracted for a couple of seconds in the air.

Distracted?

Sir, the… the fuel meters were--

Dhali, you know as much as I do.

Right now, there is no room for distraction.

One small mistake in the actual operation

and the bomb could fall on our own soldiers.

I understand. It won't happen again, sir.

I can't let you fly right now.

For your sake.

And for everyone else's sake.

Sir, there's concerning news coming from Southeast Asia.

Indian Air Force is doing high-altitude bombing trials.

What the hell was that, Zinni?

They're trying GPS guidance on their Stone Age MiG-21s.

Jesus Christ.

If the Indian Air Force gets back in there,

this whole fucking mess could blow up in our face.

The trials will not succeed, sir.

Pentagon's been monitoring. I got it covered.

We'd better take care of this.

One misstep and this whole thing could go nuclear in no time.

Got that right, sir.

Releasing bombs in three, two, one.

Now! Griffin, bombs away!

Flying Officer Baldy.

Error, 370 meters, sir.

Who's up next?

Sangy?

Yes, sir.

Releasing bombs in five,

four, three, two, one.

Now! Adonis, bombs away!

Linear error, 360 meters, sir.

Uh…

I think we have time for one more sortie, don't we?

Let's try, sir.

Tony, all of your calculations are absolutely correct.

But there at that height, who knows what other error is happening.

Hmm.

- Baldy. - Sir?

Just call the Met Department again.

Let's check if there's any difference in today's weather forecast and our chart.

Sir, I've been taking hourly updates from the Met Department.

Cross-checked everything, sir. There's no difference.

Baldy, we've done all these calculations on paper. Maybe you're missing something.

Some data, entry, some variable, some parameter, something.

You gave it your best, Tony.

But this strategy doesn't seem to work.

Boys, I'm proud of you, for even attempting this.

But it's time to…

call it off.

Steady, Dhali.

- Dhali? - Steady.

- Dhali, enough now. - Fuel meter, Dhali.

The bombing trials have failed.

So?

Dhali, we all feel the loss of Ahuja sir.

I can understand what you must be going through.

Were you there?

Were either of you there?

Were any of you there flying with Ahuja sir?

No, right?

Then you won't be able to understand.

Hello, ma'am.

Yes?

Mrs. Alka Ahuja?

I'm here from the Maruti showroom.

Here's the brand-new car your husband had booked for you.

Congratulations.

Here are some registration papers--

You can leave them here.

I'll get them signed and send them to you.

- Have a nice day. Thank you. - Thank you.

I forgot to smile that day.

Hmm?

You know, whenever Ajay would go for his sortie,

I would always smile at him and then see him off.

But the day he was leaving for Srinagar…

Let's go.

Sir, there's no need for servicing right now.

So I've put the ground crew on standby for the moment.

Do we have any handheld GPS?

Uh…

Uh, yes, we do, sir.

Get it here.

Right, sir.

Chou, we're on the tarmac,

but the coordinates indicate that we are on the runway.

Look at this. The GPS error is exactly of 250 meters.

Sir, I wanted to inform you that the US has attempted to sabotage our trials.

What do you mean?

As you know,

we get our GPS signals through the US Air Force, sir.

My hunch is

that they might have degraded our GPS signals.

Our calculations are absolutely correct, sir.

But I think they've used their satellite to weaken our GPS signals,

and that is the reason why the system shows an error.

Sir, I went to different locations

and checked the signal of the GPS device myself.

The GPS is off by exactly 250 meters, we can account for it, sir.

I… I'm still waiting for the good news, Tony.

For that, we need…

that fourth day of trials.

Sir, if we release the bomb a little earlier

at the same release altitude,

we can accommodate the GPS lag.

Releasing bomb in three, two, one.

Now! Arrow, bombs away!

One twenty.

Bomb almost on target. Error, 120 meters only. Jai Hind!

Jai Hind.

Sir, error only 120 meters.

Sir.

- Good job, Tony. - Thank you, sir.

I'm glad that I gave you that fourth day.

Sir, at first our soldiers were only able to see the mountains,

not their army.

But now their army will only be able see the clouds.

Not our planes.

We'll go to Drass this evening to obtain coordinates from our army…

and we'll also tell them

that Operation Safed Sagar is back.

Sir.

Sir, Point 5140 is the highest peak in West Kargil within the Tololing sector.

We've had most of our casualties right here.

From this peak, the enemy has choked up our whole valley.

So we request you to first and foremost bomb this area over here.

For our Indian Army, Point 5140 is the highest and the most difficult peak

to recapture in the Drass sector.

From there, the enemy is able to directly target our National Highway 1.

So as a matter of strategy, it is critical that we recapture this peak first.

Okay, Sartaj. For the bombing,

you'll provide us with the coordinates of Point 5140.

And for the coordination between the Army and the Air Force,

we will be deploying a forward air-controller there,

who will accompany your forward troops

and will also do the conversion of the target coordinates,

and also relay the real-time locations of both the sides.

Sir, I genuinely think there's no one better than Baldy for this technical job.

Sir.

That's it, then.

Operation Safed Sagar resumes with 5140.

Good night.

- Jai Hind, sir. - Jai Hind.

After international pressure and widespread condemnation

of the brutal killing of Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja,

Pakistan has now released Flight Lieutenant Nishant

of the Indian Air Force.

In the latest from South Asia,

Pakistan has rebuffed American attempts

to mediate in the escalating Kargil conflict,

insisting it remains a bilateral matter between Islamabad and New Delhi.

Foreign Minister Sartaj Aziz is now travelling to India

for direct talks with his counterpart, Jaswant Singh.

Mr. Vajpayee,

Mr. Prime Minister and the whole Pakistan cabinet

is very sorry to hear about…

the martyrdom of your soldiers and pilot,

Ajay Ahuja.

We thought that he died because of the impact of the crash.

But I guess he fell into the hands of the Mujahideen.

Mr. Prime Minister want me to personally talk to the Mujahideens

so that things could cool down.

And that's why we handed over your pilot, Nishant, back to you safely.

I am ready to mediate with the Mujahideens in the future as well.

But this mediation can only happen

if India agrees to discuss the Kashmir issue with us.

Mr. Vajpayee,

you, uh, need to trust Pakistan.

Hmm.

Mr. Aziz, I do trust…

that this issue can be solved by Pakistan alone.

Sir, India has deployed

another 15,000 soldiers in the Kargil sector.

What does it matter if there are 1,000 or 15,000?

It's been more than three weeks since we were discovered.

Could the Indian Air Force or the Army harm us in any way?

Aziz, as long as we have the advantage of height,

the Indian Air Force and the Indian Army, we can crush both of them.

Sir, I have really tried my best, but the man is very stubborn.

Then we can make an example out of him.

Make such an example out of him that their souls start trembling

even before they think of entering Pakistan.

Sir, what about the international community?

To hell with the international community.

Such an important call on an unsecured line?

Shame on you, Mr. Sartaj.

This, even by Pakistani standards, is pathetic.

General Musharraf's character was…

already on display for all to see during the peace talks.

But be it the Army or the cabinet,

it's now very clear that all of you are the same.

Mr. Aziz,

just go and inform Mr. Nawaz

that the time for discussion and conversation is now completely over.

Now, India…

will talk with all of you only via the war in Kargil.

Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh

and Pakistan's Sartaj Aziz have just finished a two-hour-long meeting.

But as you can clearly see, there are no answers being given

to the questions being asked by the reporters.

Why didn't they let him speak to the press?

This is the biggest breaking news of the day.

The phone recordings released by the Ministry of External Affairs today

identified Pakistani Army Chief General Pervez Musharraf,

who can be heard very clearly.

All these recordings prove once again without a doubt

that the attack in Kargil is not by the Mujahideen.

In fact, the Pakistan Army was behind this operation.

We are following extraordinary developments in South Asia,

where leaked telephone conversations

have fundamentally altered the narrative surrounding the Kargil conflict.

These intercepted conversations

between Pakistani Army Chief General Pervez Musharraf

and his second in-command offer unprecedented insight

in what appears to be a systematic deception campaign by Islamabad.

Pardon me, I come here unannounced.

Mr. Prime Minister.

First of all, I'd like to apologize to the entire cabinet

from the bottom of my heart for whatever trouble you all face

because of those leaked tapes.

I shouldn't have spoken the way I did on an unsecured line.

Come, please have a seat.

Forget about the tapes. We have China on our side,

so what does it even matter what the rest of the world thinks about us?

Isn't it?

Isn't it?

China is supporting us, right?

It is. Of course.

General Musharraf, the Chinese officials have clearly confirmed

that they never, at any point during this operation,

extended any support to you at all.

Fear the almighty, Mr. Pervez.

How much more are you going to lie to the whole cabinet,

to the Prime Minister, to the people of our country?

In the political scenery of Pakistan,

you see, the Kashmir issue is an extremely complicated matter.

Everyone really wants Kashmir,

but the responsibility to acquire it, nobody wants that.

If I hadn't lied to all of you and accepted this responsibility,

could we have captured such a massive chunk of Kashmir

like we have done today?

Definitely not.

Mr. Prime Minister, you would have stopped this operation

under American pressure a long time ago.

Which is what I should have done after the briefing on the 17th on May,

but I'm doing it today.

I declare Operation Koh-i-Paimaa

done and dusted, cancelled and closed.

Effective immediately.

Now our country

will not be paying for this unauthorized war

started by General Musharraf.

It's an order.

February 23, 1999, Skardu Base.

The Prime Minister was given a very comprehensive briefing

on Tupac, the Mujahideen Operation.

I'm sure you remember this photograph, sir.

This was taken two days after the peace talks.

And in that very meeting, the PM had given his approval

to give the soldiers Stinger missiles,

which were used to shoot down the Indian Air Force jets.

Isn't this your signature, Mr. Prime Minister?

Everything is happening with your approval, sir.

But if you still think otherwise,

then we can call the press in the morning

and tell the whole world our side of the truth.

Pervez Musharraf did not start this war.

We've been at war with India since the Partition.

But the point is that this time, we are winning this war.

I would clearly like to inform the whole cabinet

that the Pakistan Army

is never going to back down from a war we are winning.

Whether Islamabad is with us on this or not.

Sir, Sangy and I checked out the blast pen. Everything's fine.

And what about the men? Have they rested well?

I'll just be back.

Can I fly tomorrow, sir?

I… I really need to, sir.

- Look, Dhali, it's really not-- - Sir, please.

I wish I could help you.

Jai Hind, sir.

Jai Hind.

You will have to go back.

We all need some help, Dhali.

Cheers, Dhali.

Hercules 2, fuel check.

You will have to go back.

We all need some help, Dhali.

Hercules 2, breaking off.

Hercules 2, fuel check.

Hercules 2, breaking off. We all need some help.

Hercules 2, breaking off.

Dhali?

At ease.

It wasn't your fault.

"Why was I low on fuel?"

"Why did I turn back?"

"If I hadn't come back, maybe Ahuja sir would be alive."

That's what you've been thinking, right?

Hmm?

Stop thinking about all this.

If it wasn't my fault, then why am I not able to face Alka ma'am?

It was my fault.

I used to boast a lot that I do so many things in the war,

I used to talked big that I'd proved myself.

But what have I done till now?

I just took a U-turn and came back.

Every time I close my eyes, I can't see anything

but that fuel meter, sir.

And…

Why didn't he just let me go with him that day?

When he needed me the most, I just came back.

I couldn't do anything for him…

- Why? - The war isn't over yet, Dhali.

Tomorrow, we are going to bomb Drass's most critical peak, 5140.

This will be my life's…

and probably this mission's most important sortie, Dhali.

And I want my best pilot with me.

Will you fly with me?

Tell me…

will you fly with me?

And now, sports news.

Today, in Manchester, India will face Pakistan in the Super Six match.

Both batsmen have entered.

It's just a matter of time before the game begins.

Tendulkar joined by Ramesh,

who replaces an injured Ganguly.

And we're underway with a hard new English ball in Wasim Akram's grip,

up against the finest batsmen on the planet.

Scanners to FAC, Arrow formation has taken off.

Sartaj sir, they've taken off.

Chanakya to Sangram. Over.

- Sangram for Chanakya. Okay, pass. Over. - Eagles incoming. Stand by for attack.

Roger. Over.

Keep climbing to 30,000 feet.

Roger. On your tail.

What the hell?

Arrow 1, your speed is fluctuating. All okay?

I have a problem, Arrow 2.

My airspeed indicator is misbehaving. Looks like a pitot tube blockage.

I think we should abort this mission.

But, Arrow 1, can I drop my bomb?

Negative, Arrow 2. Without airspeed indication, I'm blind.

You have to guide me back to the base now.

We have to abort mission. Now.

Sir, there is some technical glitch. They may be aborting the mission.

Chanakya for Sangram.

- Over. - Sangram for Chanakya. Okay, pass. Over.

Hold position, Eagles aborting.

Company, hold.

Down the track he comes, lobs it skywards…

Yeah!

Well done, boys!

Chin up, soldier.

Sir, we don't have to abort this mission.

If I can guide you all the way back to the base,

then I can guide you for the bombing as well, sir. Trust me.

Too risky for that, Dhali.

I've said this before, the bombs could fall on our army as well.

Sir, you just need to match my speed and my position.

I will be your airspeed indicator.

It's too risky, Dhali. This is not the Tosa Maidan.

The stakes are too high.

Sir, didn't you tell me that I'm your best pilot?

I won't let you down, sir.

I've already taken a U-turn and I'm not taking another.

I have to do this for Hercules 1.

All right. Let's do it.

- For Ahuja. - Yes, sir.

Sir, they're coming in for a second pass.

Chanakya for Sangram. Over.

The Air Force is coming back. Stand by to attack. Over.

Roger, sir. Jai Hind.

Up in the air. And Afridi has spilled it at deep mid-wicket.

That will go down as a dropped chance and a boundary…

Get the missiles ready! It's time to fight!

Everyone, get the SAMs ready! Move forward!

We're two minutes away from our release point, sir.

Stay steady on my left echelon and try to match my exact position.

Roger. Matching position.

Sir, you seem to be falling behind.

A touch of power, 2%.

Power increase by 2%.

In position.

- Maintain position, sir. - Maintaining.

Arrow 1, now turn right three degrees.

Turning right, three degrees.

Come closer, sir. Maintain position at half wingspan.

Coming in, half wingspan.

We are just 60 seconds away from the release point, sir.

True airspeed should be 850 for bomb release.

Let's increase now.

Roger. Increasing, maintaining position.

Thirty seconds left. Lock throttle now, sir.

Throttle locked.

Arming switches now.

Switch is armed.

Stand by to release in ten,

nine, eight,

seven, six, five,

four, three,

two, one!

Now!

Bombs away!

Bombs away!

Everybody, run!

Yes!

Chanakya for Sangram. Over. Bombing successful.

Fire is raining from the sky.

Yes!

In the first two days of Operation Safed Sagar,

after the loss of three aircraft and five pilots,

the Indian Air Force has made a spectacular comeback.

The Indian Air Force's MiG-21s made precise attacks

in challenging mountainous terrain

and cleared the way for the soldiers fighting on the ground.

A feat that no other Air Force in the world could have achieved.

- Hmm. - No, the doctor said I shouldn't.

All okay?

Point 5140 has finally been recaptured…

Yeah, now it's all okay.

But today's win is not just about regaining a peak.

It is a message that India is sending to the world,

that this war will lead to only one conclusion, saving our home.

How far along are you?

It's just been one month.

Congratulations.

When did you find out?

A week ago.

Why didn't you tell us?

I thought it wasn't the right time.

But this is good news, Madhavi.

No time is ever right or wrong for good news.

Baldy, does he know?

- No. - Why?

I will tell him the day he doesn't have a sortie.

Hassan, what have you sent me?

"Fire is raining from the sky." What do you mean?

Sir, this was the last message from our soldiers from Point 5140.

They were all sitting together listening to cricket commentary

when the bombs started falling from above.

Why aren't we using the Stinger missiles?

Sir, our soldiers couldn't see the Indian jets.

They could only hear them.

What? How is that possible, Hassan?

Nobody… It's impossible for any air force in the world

to attack from such an altitude.

I don't know how, but the Indian Air Force is doing it.

We'll conquer We'll conquer Tololing

We will conquer, hey!

We'll conquer We'll conquer Tiger Hill

We will conquer, hey!

We will conquer!

Boys!

Today, after several weeks of fighting,

we finally captured Point 5140

and hoisted the Indian flag on the peak.

But then…

we're also aware…

that to recapture this one peak,

so many of our brothers sacrificed themselves.

And their sacrifice won't be in vain.

This war is still not over.

For our brothers, in memory of our brothers,

in honor of our beloved brothers,

we will fight!

We will fight, sir!

We will keep fighting, sir!

Hoist our flag on every single peak that belongs to us!

Right?

God knows how long this war will go on

if we continue bombing one peak at a time.

Yeah.

We have to scale up, sir.

For our army and these soldiers.

I agree with you, Tony.

But the Golden Arrows only have eight jets.

And only those eight jets have an inbuilt GPS system.

If we try to fit other jets with them, it'll take a few months.

I know that, sir.

Tony…

I've got an idea.

Thanks to the successful GPS bombing carried out by the Golden Arrows,

the Army has captured its first post.

And that's why what the Golden Arrows have started,

we need to scale it up now.

You're all being given these handheld GPS sets

that we have sourced from the electronics markets

throughout the country.

These aren't as accurate as the GPS systems on the MiG-21.

But when was the last time we waited for perfect conditions?

Now we will bomb them day and night.

Stick them to your wrists, your thighs, or even your cockpit walls,

wherever you feel comfortable.

But make sure you drop hell on those rats from every direction.

In five, four, three, two,

one. Now!

Bombs away!

Bombs away!

Now!

Bombs away!

Bombs away!

Bombs away!

- Sir, long live Pakistan. - Long live Pakistan.

So, what's the update here?

- Sir, the morale is low. - Why?

The news of the bombing has spread across all the other peaks as well.

The soldiers are scared, sir.

What are they scared of?

When those enemy jets were dropping bombs, what were your soldiers doing?

Sir, as I informed you during the phone call,

they… they came from above the clouds.

Our soldiers couldn't even fire the Stinger missiles.

Hassan, why are bunkers always made of stones?

Inform the soldiers at every peak

that from now on, if they hear the enemy jets coming,

then all the soldiers should hide in the stone bunkers.

Okay, sir.

Bombing successful. Move forward.

Move!