Real Mirrors Reel: Ironically, Abhi’s father was advisor for Kaatru Veliyidai

The Indian Air Force (IAF) Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who has been captured by Pakistan, is the son of the Air Marshall (Retd), Simhakutti Varthaman, who also served in the IAF and was posted as the Air Officer Commanding, Eastern Command till 2014. Mani Ratnam’s Kaatru Veliyidai is a film which shows the protagonist Varun Chakrapani, played by Karthi Sivakumar landing in the enemy’s territory after being shot. Sadly, it is Air Marshall Simhakutti Varthaman, who was the go-to-man for Mani and co with his inputs for the film. An assistant director to Mani, on condition of anonymity told us, “All of us in the team fondly call Simha sir as ‘uncle’. Uncle and aunty are the sweetest people one can come across. He was one of the consultants from the IAF who gave us valuable inputs for the film. Though he didn’t come to the sets in Leh and Ladakh, whatever he told us was valuable for the film. We pray that Abhinandan comes back home soon. Our prayers are with uncle and aunty.”

It was Karthi, who played the Squadron Leader in the film, who reminisces the little time he had spent with Simhakutti Varthaman. “I met sir during the audio launch of Kaatru Veliyidai. It was Mani sir, who had met him to gather information for the film. He is such a warm person. It was during the film, I understood how difficult it is to get selected to become a fighter pilot. They are in a different league altogether and can rightly be called the IITians of our military forces,” he said. The actor said that the news of Abhinandan’s capture by Pakistani Army is indeed a disturbing news. “The reason we are safe inside our homes is because there are people like Abhi, who fight for our nation at the border. It was saddening to hear the news today and at this hour we need to be there for his family and hope he returns home safe and sound,” added Karthi as he hung up the call emotionally.