Fighter Pilot Varlin Panwar Joins Mohanlal's 'Operation Ganga' to Get the War Scenes Right

Mumbai: There's a new name attached to Mohanlal's upcoming war drama 'Operation Ganga', and this one comes straight from the battlefield rather than the studio. Squadron Leader Varlin Panwar has been brought on board as the film's military advisor, tasked with making sure the combat sequences feel like the real thing.

Panwar's job will be to guide the action choreography and troop manoeuvres on set, giving director Vishnu Mohan's rescue drama the kind of ground-level accuracy that's hard to fake. The film revisits India's high-stakes evacuation mission during the 2022 Russia-Ukraine conflict - a story with plenty of dramatic weight already, but one the makers clearly want to get technically right too.

Vishnu Mohan, a National Award winner, directs the project for Gokulam Gopalan's Sree Gokulam Movies. Mohanlal leads an ensemble that includes Arjun Rampal, Bhagyashri Borse, Adil Hussain, and Parthiban, each expected to anchor a different thread of the rescue operation.

Behind the camera, the film is stacking up serious talent. Cinematographer Miroslaw Kuba Brozek - who shot 'Pushpa' - handles the visuals, with Rajeevan on production design and C. Young Oh choreographing the action. Composer Shashwat Sachdev, editor Shameer Mohammed, and sound designer Bishwadeep Chatterjee round out a crew clearly aiming for a big-canvas, immersive war film rather than just another star vehicle.

With a real Air Force officer now shaping the combat sequences, 'Operation Ganga' looks to be positioning itself as much more than spectacle - it wants the credibility to match the scale.