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COORGS (KODAVAS) SHOULD UNDERSTAND ‘SKY FORCE’ MOVIE NOT A BIOPIC. IT IS A FICTIONALISED ACCOUNT OF 1965 INDO-PAK WAR

By P.T. Bopanna

The makers of the war film ‘Sky Force’ should be congratulated for immortalising the heroism of Coorg-born squadron leader Ajjamada Bopayya Devayya (in picture), the only Indian Air Force officer to be awarded the Maha Vir Chakra (MVC) posthumously.

All these years, only the role of field marshal K.M. Cariappa and General K.S. Thimayya, were eulogised in the public domain. Now Devayya joins the pantheon of the great soldiers from Kodagu (Coorg), the land of warriors from Karnataka.

A section of Kodavas (Coorgs) feel that the movie does not mention the fact that Sqn Ldr hailed from Kodagu. Instead, Devayya’s character is fictionalised as Krishna Vijaya, played by newcomer Veer Paharia, and Sara Ali Khan as Geeta Vijaya.

But one should bear in mind that Sky Force is not a biopic on Devayya, but a fictionalised account of the Indian Air Force’s airstrike on the Sargodha airbase in Pakistan during the 1965 war.

The film has received rave reviews from most of the critics. This reporter had the apprehension that the film would be jingoistic as Akshya Kumar who stars in the movie is close to prime minister Modi. Thankfully the reviews point out there is minimal use of jingoism.

Most of the reviews give full marks to Veer Pahariya for doing justice to the role of Sqn Ldr Devayya in his debut film.