Netflix’s Operation Safed Sagar Corrects Tricolour Draping Error After Army Veteran’s Flag Code Objection
The makers of Netflix’s Operation Safed Sagar: The Untold Story of the Kargil War have digitally corrected a scene after an Indian Army veteran alleged that it showed the Tricolour draped incorrectly on the coffin of Kargil martyr Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja. The complaint, raised by Shaurya Chakra awardee Colonel Vembu Shankar (Retd), had also prompted a call for the show’s temporary suspension until the visual was fixed and for a public apology.
The issue centred on a recreated funeral sequence in Season 1, Episode 4, at roughly the 35:30 mark. Colonel Shankar shared a screengrab on Instagram showing pallbearers carrying Ahuja’s coffin, marked with a “Head” notice and the officer’s service particulars, while draped in the Indian National Flag. According to Shankar, the green band of the Tricolour appeared at the head end of the coffin, which he said was contrary to the Flag Code of India.
“This is an incorrect draping of the Indian National Flag on a coffin as per the Flag Code of India. The saffron should have been towards the head,” he wrote. “I am shocked how the authorities at the Service Headquarters and the military advisors have overlooked this fact. Can someone in the Air HQ connect with the producers to digitally alter/edit the colour and until then suspend the screening on the streaming platform Netflix and also issue an apology in mainstream media.”
The relevant provision is laid out in Section 3.58 of the Flag Code of India, which states that during State, Military or Central Para-Military Forces funerals, the flag must be placed over the bier or coffin with the saffron band towards the head. The same section also specifies that the flag must not be lowered into the grave or burnt in the pyre. Reports on the controversy noted that archival or real footage used elsewhere in the series showed the flag in the correct orientation, while the dramatized recreation did not.
The objection came from a veteran with a combat record of his own. Colonel Vembu Shankar, now retired, was awarded the Shaurya Chakra for gallantry as a young officer. On 3 July 1998, during an ambush at Gormatnar Gali in the Kupwara sector of Jammu and Kashmir, then-Lieutenant Shankar led his men under heavy militant fire and killed two militants at close range. He later served in Operation Vijay during the Kargil War. After taking voluntary retirement, he went on to found Project Sambandh, an initiative that has reached thousands of families of Army personnel who died in service, helping them secure dues and support.
The series at the centre of the controversy premiered globally on Netflix on 7 August 2026. Directed by Oni Sen and created by Abhijeet Singh Parmar and Kushal Srivastava, the six-episode production dramatizes the Indian Air Force’s role in the 1999 Kargil conflict, with particular focus on No. 17 Squadron, the Golden Arrows. Siddharth plays Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja, while the cast also includes Jimmy Shergill, Abhay Verma as Flying Officer Rajpal Singh Dhaliwal, known as “Dhali”, and Mihir Ahuja as Flying Officer C.H. Bal Reddy, known as “Baldy”. Dia Mirza, Prajakta Koli and Adil Hussain are also part of the ensemble.
The production had been mounted with extensive military consultation. According to the source material, IAF veterans, including former Air Chief Marshal B.S. Dhanoa, were consulted during development. Two former Air Force officers were present on set to supervise matters such as protocol, uniforms and other service details. Filming was carried out across operational bases with access to actual aircraft and infrastructure, and the show has been described as one of Netflix India’s largest productions.
The scene in question depicts the final journey of Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja, one of the best-known individual stories from the air campaign of the Kargil War. A MiG-21 pilot, Ahuja was shot down on 27 May 1999 while trying to locate a fellow pilot whose aircraft had been hit. He managed to eject, but was killed on the ground. His death has remained one of the most enduring accounts of sacrifice associated with the Indian Air Force’s operations in the high-altitude conflict.
The matter was subsequently resolved. On 12 August 2026, the Free Press Journal reported exclusively that the Tricolour error had been corrected by the makers. Colonel Shankar confirmed the change and said he had been informed directly by the producers.
“I have seen the full series. It has been very well made. It’ll inspire a lot of people to know about our heroes and the contribution of the Indian Air Force. There is nothing against the series that I have. It is just a small glitch of the national flag which was wrongly depicted, but now it has been corrected. I got a message from the producers that it has been corrected,” he said.
He had earlier observed that the problematic visual appeared only for a fraction of a second and could be edited quickly. At the time the issue first surfaced, no formal public statement from Netflix or the production houses, Matchbox Shots and Feel Good Films, had been widely issued. However, the digital correction appears to have been implemented soon after the veteran’s post drew attention online.
The episode has drawn attention to the level of scrutiny that accompanies dramatizations of military history, particularly when national symbols and the funeral honours of fallen service personnel are shown on screen. Although Operation Safed Sagar has otherwise been praised for its technical detailing, production scale and depiction of the Golden Arrows’ role in the 47-day air campaign, the dispute over a single brief shot highlighted how even minor deviations from established protocol can trigger objections.
For now, the controversy appears to have remained limited to that one visual detail. With the correction in place, Operation Safed Sagar continues to stream on Netflix, and the broader reception to the series has remained positive as it brings the Indian Air Force’s Kargil story to a wider audience.
