- Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja was a big SRK fan, especially of his Baazigar song Yeh Kaali Kaali Aankhen
- The Operation Safed Sagar dance scene highlights camaraderie among Air Force personnel, ignoring rank
- The sequence was inspired by the Air Force tradition called the 'Slosh Dance'
In Operation Safed Sagar, a group of Indian Air Force officers come together for an impromptu dance to Shah Rukh Khan's Yeh Kaali Kaali Aankhen from Baazigar. At the centre of the celebration is Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja, played by Siddharth. The seemingly playful sequence, however, has a deeply personal reason behind it.
Speaking to NDTV, Siddharth revealed that the song was chosen because Ahuja himself was a huge Shah Rukh Khan fan.
"There is a reason behind that. Ahuja sir was a big Shah Rukh Khan fan and one of his favourite songs was Yeh Kaali Kaali Aankhen," Siddharth said.
But the song wasn't only about Ahuja's personal connection with Shah Rukh Khan. The sequence was also designed to capture the camaraderie among Air Force personnel, where rank and hierarchy took a back seat.
"The other thing was the ritual of all the members of the Air Force, without rank, without status, juniors and seniors, come together and dance and drink together," Siddharth explained.
He went on to reveal that the makers drew from a specific Air Force tradition while creating the sequence.
"There is actually a ritual called Slosh Dance, which is as obvious as it sounds. So we wanted to bring a lot of that into the camaraderie," he said.
The choice also made sense from the perspective of the show's larger narrative. The officers are about to enter a war, and Siddharth believes the audience needed to see them at their happiest before the story takes a darker turn.
"Also, if you look at the flow of the screenplay, they needed a really happy celebratory high before the boys went into war," he said.
That makes the dance more than just a fun musical interlude. For Siddharth, it was important to preserve a fleeting moment of happiness in Ahuja's story - and to connect it to something he personally loved.
"So it was very important that we show Ahuja sir and Alka ma'am in a really beautiful, timeless moment," Siddharth said.
And ultimately, the song became the makers' way of paying tribute to that personal connection.
"We are really glad we could take his love for Shah Rukh Khan and give a little tribute to that love," Siddharth added.
Operation Safed Sagar also stars Jimmy Shergill, Abhay Verma, Mihir Ahuja, Arnav Bhasin, Taaruk Raina, Dia Mirza, Prajakta Koli and Amrita Bagchi.
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