The Last Salute: Netflix Announces MiG-21 documentary After Operation Safed Sagar Success

Netflix is expanding the world of Operation Safed Sagar with The Last Salute, a documentary centred on the MiG-21 and its long association with the Indian Air Force. The announcement comes as the military drama continues to attract viewers in India and overseas.

The Last Salute explores MiG-21’s IAF legacy

Directed by Kushal Srivastava and produced by Matchbox Shots, The Last Salute will explore the MiG-21’s 62-year journey with the Indian Air Force. The documentary will bring together Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh and pilots who have flown the fighter aircraft over the decades.

The film will focus on the personal stories surrounding the MiG-21 and its place in the lives of generations of air warriors. The aircraft also featured prominently in Operation Safed Sagar, which dramatises the Indian Air Force’s role during the 1999 Kargil War.

Speaking about the documentary, Netflix India Series Head Tanya Bami said the MiG-21 had become an integral part of the stories shared by pilots during the making of the series. Its legacy, she said, deserved to be explored separately.

Operation Safed Sagar success leads to new documentary

The announcement follows the strong global response to Operation Safed Sagar. The series has reached the No. 2 position on Netflix’s Global Top 10 Non-English TV Shows list for a second consecutive week and has entered the top 10 in 40 countries, topping charts in 10.

Producer Sanjay Routray said the team realised while making the series that the MiG-21 was more than an aircraft for generations of air warriors. The Last Salute, he added, takes that story further through the experiences of the pilots who flew it.

The Last Salute will premiere on Netflix on August 26.