Gunjan Saxena and Sreevidya speak to the media | NDTV Video interview - Page 5

Originally posted by: BettyA1

Bold - Did u watch the video ( have to admit both DR and GS are not very clear or eloquent here, maybe not used to talking to the media)

SR says that she was in the first batch and at that time media wasn’t allowed there... They were not in the habit of talking to the media... By the time Gunjan cane media was allowed and she was interviewed, that could be the reason they thought she was the first

And Kargil celebration did not start up until few yrs ago so it might have escaped most people’s attention

I think it must’ve bothered her (she should’ve said something) but maybe she didn’t think things would go this far... That’s why she’s speaking up now

I didn’t say whole Airforce is blamed but what if you were one of the men who worked with her ( although names might be changed) portraying you and your colleagues like that would be okay esp if it’s not true or highly exaggerated?

Again why some (not you) are saying but why us criticizing them okay but not Gunjan

Okay I am done

I watched the Srividya one.

What do you mean Kargil celebration didn't start until a few yrs ago? It started right off the bat, didn’t it? LOC, Lakshya, Dhoop are some of the movies that come to mind- which were made in the early 2000s. And a ton of books, documentaries etc on the same right from 2000 itself.

She probably has her reasons to speak up but I cannot support someone who was directly bashing her own colleague just because of a movie(her words, not mine) and all but calling her a liar by saying the male officers can never be anything but great.

Someone can verify this because I am not sure how true it is but is it true that Gunjan’s name was featured as the first female pilot in the Limca book of records? If yes, then I am sure they would’ve had their way to verify the facts before entering into their book of records?

Originally posted by: tina59

If someone I know flew before me and I am aware about it, I would clarify it then and there ,no I wasn't the first, she flew before me.

Sreevidya choosing to be silent for 21 years is cheap, Gunjan not even clarifying that she wasnt the first when she knew this very well , is classy?????

Both are great but again let's not degrade Sreevidya to glorify Gunjan or justify Gunjan Saxena movie's creative liberties that maligned others.

Exactly both are wrong

Originally posted by: Aanandaa

I watched the Srividya one.

What do you mean Kargil celebration didn't start until a few yrs ago? It started right off the bat, didn’t it? LOC, Lakshya, Dhoop are some of the movies that come to mind- which were made in the early 2000s. And a ton of books, documentaries etc on the same right from 2000 itself.

She probably has her reasons to speak up but I cannot support someone who was directly bashing her own colleague just because of a movie(her words, not mine) and all but calling her a liar by saying the male officers can never be anything but great.

Someone can verify this because I am not sure how true it is but is it true that Gunjan’s name was featured as the first female pilot in the Limca book of records? If yes, then I am sure they would’ve had their way to verify the facts before entering into their book of records?

Bold - I am not the one saying that! That’s what she says in that clip (did u watch it?’) that Kargil Vijay Thivas was started only a few yrs ago

Underline - Again she didn’t say that... Why do her detractors keep distorting the facts like that to bash her

I already posted that link twice where she talks about the things they had to go thru just bcz they were women...

Here’s another IV where she talks about that

https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/palakkad-kargil-iaf-officer-sreevidya-rajan-intv-gunjan-saxena-130959

Also does the movie say that Gunjan was the only woman to fly at that time? Or do they neglect to mention the existence of another female pilot during the mission?

If that’s true SR has every right to speak up

Originally posted by: BettyA1

Bold - I am not the one saying that! That’s what she says in that clip (did u watch it?’) that Kargil Vijay Thivas was started only a few yrs ago

Underline - Again she didn’t say that... Why do her detractors keep distorting the facts like that to bash her

I already posted that link twice where she talks about the things they had to go thru just bcz they were women...

Here’s another IV where she talks about that

https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/palakkad-kargil-iaf-officer-sreevidya-rajan-intv-gunjan-saxena-130959

Also does the movie say that Gunjan was the only woman to fly at that time? Or do they neglect to mention the existence of another female pilot during the mission?

If that’s true SR has every right to speak up

First things first,I am not her detractor. :/ How easily people resort to name calling here!

Srividya spoke about it and movie also shows the hardships Gunjan had to go through just because she was a woman, so where was the issue then?

So you haven’t watched the movie? They didn’t make any special claim that Gunjan was the only woman officer. They showed a couple of other women during the training period.

About the Kargil Vijay Diwas- its been celebrated right from 1999 for 21 years now. Don’t know what she meant by only recently.

Originally posted by: Aanandaa

First things first,I am not her detractor. :/ How easily people resort to name calling here!

Srividya spoke about it and movie also shows the hardships Gunjan had to go through just because she was a woman, so where was the issue then?

So you haven’t watched the movie? They didn’t make any special claim that Gunjan was the only woman officer. They showed a couple of other women during the training period.

About the Kargil Vijay Diwas- its been celebrated right from 1999 for 21 years now. Don’t know what she meant by only recently.

What name calling? You said

“She probably has her reasons to speak up but I cannot support someone who was directly bashing her own colleague just because of a movie(her words, not mine) and all but calling her a liar by saying the male officers can never be anything but great.”

And others criticized her too repeatedly

Bold - exactly - What’s the issue., Why some are saying SR said sexism never existed in IAF

SR says the movie mentions only one female pilot in Kargil

Originally posted by: BettyA1

What name calling? You said

“She probably has her reasons to speak up but I cannot support someone who was directly bashing her own colleague just because of a movie(her words, not mine) and all but calling her a liar by saying the male officers can never be anything but great.”

And others criticized her too repeatedly

Bold - exactly - What’s the issue., Why some are saying SR said sexism never existed in IAF

SR says the movie mentions only one female pilot in Kargil

Criticizing isn’t equivalent to disparaging or shaming or detracting or anything that this thread has come up with.

Like I said, in the movie they didn’t say anything about Gunjan being the only female pilot - at least to the best of my knowledge.

Srividya has to take it up with IAF itself for peddling Gunjan as the first female Pilot to the Limca Book of Records. Next she also has to take it up with the Limca Book of Records and question them how they came up with that record when it was her who was the first female Pilot.

Originally posted by: insideroutsider

I hope this is a learning for all that if you see not getting the credit you deserve in front of others, the onus will ALWAYS be on you to correct it at that particular moment unless it's too late- in this case 21 years later.

This is not just about Sreevidya but it's something that's ingrained in us in this society from a long time. We think asking for credit that we rightfully deserve would make us look ambitious and opportunistic so prefer to stay silent only to have found out later on that we should've opened our mouth. Has happened with me and many people around me for so long. We need to get over this and fight for our well deserving credit.

I have very little idea about the controversy regarding the movie and this may be a bit off topic,but completely agree with this.The truth is that being honest about what we feel can save ourselves from a whole lot of trouble .All those buried feelings...it really gets on to you at one point and sometimes we start unleashing it in the worst way possible

ITs sad that Gunjan kept quiet all this while, knowing that she wasnt the first one........ here it doesnt matter whether Srividya blew her own trumpet or not.........what matters to me, is the fact that Gunjan knew that she wasnt the one.......what the record says or what the IAF exams says is inconsequential....... when she herself knew..... I am sure she did, if they were both together at the same base.....

If you ask me, If someone was hailing me as the first person to achieve something and I know that i am not, I would politely correct the person praising me........

Here I wont blame Srividya at all, cause for her it was not an achievement cause she didnt think from the gender bias pov.......for her, those soldiers who take on more burden then her, more pressure then her are equally praiseworthy but they dont get the credit cause they are men, and its suppose to be normal.........but when we want gender equality then why hail a woman for doing the same thing as men...... I think that was her pov, so she didnt mind someone else taking the credit......... maybe thats why she kept quiet even when the movie was being made........ but now when she sees so much factually wrong thing showed, firstly omitting her character completely.....secondly showing IAF as monster institution... then its obvious she wanted to speak up.....

Also as i have already said, more onus is on the makers..........when they do research for the project, they shouldve find out this detail and taken permission with concerned parties......

IAF said that they asked to see the movie before release, but the makers didnt respond to that call....... so obviously they knew if IAF saw the movie they wont let it release.......sly people KJO and Dharma and the director........ #shame on them

edited :

I will add a small example to understand what mustve happened here....... when my studio in hollywood won an oscar for a movie, some of us were called for media interviews (here in mumbai) etc......they were the people media saw, but were they the only people who worked on the oscar project, obviously no......but the rest of us didnt say why is media covering them and not us, for us they were part of the team....... same thing Srividya must've thought when media came and spoke with Gunjan and other girls......

Originally posted by: BettyA1

Sreevidya says the entire Air Force and pilots are shown in a negative way in the movie...

Is that true?

How can Gunjan Saxena green light the project then?

from reviews I heard it is true....... they have exaggerated things monstrously......better they should have promoted it as a fictional story rather then Gunjan's biopic

Originally posted by: BettyA1

Sreevidya unlike feminists of today truly believes in gender equality

“In Kargil operations, male pilots had flown extensively and faced more hardships than us. But they never got or sought any publicity. We probably were given this fame because of our gender which I do not support. In defence services, there is no disparity between male or female. We are all officers in uniform,”

This.........this is what makes me hail Srividya more......... yes feminism is the fight against men, but for what...........for EQUALITY......... Dont treat us like someone lower then you, dont treat us as someone above you too, just give us equal respect and space and we'll work as hard as you.....

Originally posted by: tapori

I am sorry but it is disrespectful to Sreevidya if we say her coming out after these many years is in bad taste. I had read her FB post, shared in CC, and liked it. ❤️

She clearly mentioned the only reason she spoke out was the movie release. Chalo agreed people didn't know Sreevidya WAS actually the first female to fly in warzone. But they DID know that she was also a trainee with Gunjan. Yet in the movie they simply vanished her, for cinematic effect.

Agree with the second half and that's a completely different topic of how and why they completely erases her existence at the Udhampur base and Sreevidya is rightfully fighting against that.

But the main discussion here is not about the movie but about the tag. I don't think asking for a justifiable answer is equal to be disrespectful. Just like Vishnu Som asked her too, she shouldn't have kept quiet for so long for things to blow out of proportion. I would still understand if this movie was not being made and she was quiet and happy with not speaking up. But what stopped her when the news or the posters released? They released atleast one year back. Everyone who is attached to the profession irrespective of whether they are retired or not will get the news that a movie is being made on Gunjan alone who is being hailed as the first. Why didn't she speak out then and there because even in the posters there was no Sreevidya.

She says she is speaking out now because she has issues with the film for erasing her existence and has no issue with Gunjan then why is she repeating this sentence ' I didn't claim anything because I didn't want fame' to every rebuttal of Gunjan in the interview? I think she almost repeated the sentence four times. I find that irritating. You can tell your side of the truth while still being respectful to your colleague without indirectly being sarcastic right? The concern here is the tone, nothing else.