When preparing to embody a real-life hero, most actors dive into research, interviews, and rehearsals. But for Vijay Varma, the path to becoming Captain Devi Sharan led him to a flight simulator during the shoot of the series, where his training took an unexpected twist. As he practised the art of flying to convincingly portray the captain in Netflix’s upcoming series IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack, Varma found himself face-to-face with Captain Sharan himself.
Vijay Varma shares his experience of meeting the real-life Captain Devi Sharan while training for IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack Reflecting on the experience, Varma shared, "I had the opportunity to meet the real captain at the flight simulation centre where I was practising how to fly—or at least pretend like I could. Just when I was starting to feel a bit confident, Captain Sharan joined me and showed me the exact manoeuvres.” Vijay added that Captain Sharan also showed him how he saved the aircraft during the incredible landing at Lahore Airport in 1999, “He described how low they were flying, to the point where he could read the street hoardings, making it seem like the plane could crash at any moment.
But something inside him knew he could pull it off. Just sitting with him in the cockpit, watching him operate, gave me the insight I needed to hopefully recreate that magic on set." Followed by this meeting, the actor also took to social media to share a few more details of the same as he penned a heartfelt note an.