Akshat Saxena has taken an unusual route into acting. A commercial pilot with nearly 8,000 hours of flying experience, Saxena has now made his screen debut with Operation Safed Sagar. His first acting project also has a personal connection for him, as his father was an Indian Air Force fighter pilot and was part of the operation that inspired the series.
In an exclusive interview with India TV, Akshat spoke to us about his switch from pilot to acting, Operation Safed Sagar, and more. For the unversed, he is married to actress Kashmira Irani and is all set to welcome his first child soon.
Akshat Saxena talks about career change from pilot to actor
Speaking about his decision to move from the cockpit to the camera, Saxena said it came from an “inner calling”. “My inner calling and the desire to learn more about myself through the creative medium of acting,” he told us when asked what prompted the career change.
Saxena did not initially set out to make Operation Safed Sagar his first project. He said he was approached for an audition after a casting director noticed him during his stage show, Delirious. “I did not wait to make Operation Safed Sagar my first. It just so happened to be that way,” he said. “After my stage show (Delirious), a casting director noticed me and auditioned me for the role.”
Akshat Saxena on his role in Operation Safed Sagar
Playing an Air Force officer in his first screen appearance came with a sense of responsibility for Saxena. His father’s association with Operation Safed Sagar made the opportunity even more meaningful. “My father being a part of Operation Safed Sagar made my debut in it even more special,” he said.
Saxena also admitted that he would have loved to play one of the fighter pilots flying a MiG-21. “In my heart, yes, of course, I would’ve loved to have played a Fighter Boy flying one of the MIGs and would’ve done a pretty fantastic job doing so,” he said.
However, moving from aviation to acting came with its own culture shock. For Saxena, it was not the cameras or the sets but the waiting between takes. “The waiting period between shots. As an actor, there’s so much waiting you do on set,” he said.
His years as a pilot, however, have given him experiences that he believes can help him as an actor. Saxena said he has travelled across the world and experienced different cultures over the last 15 years. “It does give me an advantage for sure, because I’ve seen a lot of life being a pilot. Seen and travelled the world, its people, its cultures. I’ve had the opportunity to absorb all of it in the last 15 years.”
He described this as an actor’s biggest homework. “And this is an actor’s biggest homework, to ‘shop for life’, which I’ve been doing all my life before this.”
From a stable flying career to starting again in acting
Saxena had also discussed the career switch with his father before taking the plunge. His father’s advice was simple. “Eventually he told me to do what my heart and gut tell me to do and bear the consequences of my decisions, good or bad, and here I am, on screen on the biggest Netflix show in India currently.”
Despite his confidence, Saxena knows the move comes with pressure. “It also puts a lot of pressure on me to succeed here because I’ve left everything behind and have started afresh, bottom of the food chain,” he said.
For now, the cockpit still feels like home because of the 15 years he has spent there. But acting offers him something different. “Of course the cockpit feels like home; I’ve been in it 15 years, but a film set feels like a playground, and I love to play competitively in a playground; it excites me,” he said.
Saxena hopes Operation Safed Sagar will be the beginning of a new chapter. “I hope I get enough work to make it feel like home; it’ll happen with time, I’m sure”, he said, and signed off.
Operation Safed Sagar released on August 7. The series is currently streaming on Netflix.
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