September include a war in the skies, love that refuses to follow a straight line, a friendship on the cusp of adulthood, and a bruising yet compelling relationship.
Operation Safed Sagar (Hindi) Netflix
Launched in May 1999 during the Kargil War, Operation Safed Sagar marked the first large-scale deployment of air power in the Jammu and Kashmir region since 1971. The Indian Air Force was tasked with a nearly impossible objective: flushing out Pakistani infiltrators entrenched at steep, sub-zero altitudes above 18,000 feet, where thin air and shoulder-fired missiles made every sortie a high- stakes gamble. Netflix’s new military drama, directed by Oni Sen, focuses on the No. 17 Squadron — the famous Golden Arrows. Key figures are anchored di- rectly in real history: Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja, posthumously awarded the Vir Chakra, is played with a grounded, mature warmth by Siddharth, while Wing Commander B.S. Dhanoa (who later became Chief of Air Staff) is portrayed with authority by Jimmy Shergill.
While the soaring dogfights and thrilling aerial sequences provide undeniable excitement, the series is at its most compelling when it captures the fragile human reality of war: the camaraderie, fear, and anxiety of families waiting at home. The young cast, including Abhay Verma, Mihir Ahuja, and Taaruk Raina, effectively conveys just how remarkably young these pilots were when handed such a seemingly impossible mission. The series resonates because it trades chest-thumping patriotism in favor of the realness of the tremendous challenges faced by not only Indian military personnel but also their loved ones. While the Kargil War has been depicted in past films and series, this show asks viewers to look upward and honor the airmen who fought in the skies.
Bobby Beauty Parlour (Hindi, Punjab) YouTube
Written and directed by Shashwat Dwivedi, with Janhavi Asthana as co-writer and cinematographer, this 18-minute films unfolds almost entirely inside a neighborhood salon on an oppressive summer day. Eelu (Adrija Sinha) visits her childhood best friend Manu (Parul Rana), who works there. When the salon owner, Bobby Aunty, suffers heatstroke and leaves, the girls suddenly have the cramped space — and perhaps one of their last carefree afternoons — to themselves. Eelu is preparing to leave town for college; Manu’s life is rooted where she is. The difference is never far from the surface, even as the two fall easily into familiar banter. The film had its world premiere at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles in 2024.
Asthana’s original story was inspired in part by her own experience of moving away from childhood friends. For much of its brief runtime, almost nothing appears to happen — which is precisely the point. The girls chat, laugh, and dance, while the salon becomes a temporary refuge from the sweltering heat and the changes waiting outside its doors. Sinha and Rana are wonderfully natural, conveying affection, jealousy, and unspoken hurt without turning any of it into melodrama. The film understands something deceptively simple about growing up: Often, friendships don’t end with a falling-out. Life simply begins pulling people in different directions.
Musafir Cafe (Hindi) Netflix
Two people meet, fall into an intense relationship, separate, and spend years carrying some version of that person around with them. Musafir Cafe invests completely in this state of ache and longing. Adapted from Divya Prakash Dubey’s novel, the eight-part series stars Vikrant Massey as Chander, a man who falls for the electric Sudha (Vedika Pinto) but ends up with the steadfast and grounded Preeti (Mahima Makwana). Created by Sharanya Rajgopal and directed by Ruchir Arun, the show is less interested in asking who Chander will end up with than in examining how relationships shape us. And whether moving on is ever really so.
Massey, who has excelled in the past as the embodiment of sweet and uncomplicated, is the right mix of charming, confused, and wounded as Chander. The vivacious Pinto (who made an impact in Anurag Kashyap’s Nichaanchi) fills up the screen with verve and rawness. One would assume that Makwana would pale in comparison, but to her credit, she brings a sweetness and quiet dignity to Preeti’s character. She definitely could have been written better. Musafir Cafe moves at a slow pace, but I found that oddly calming. I guess anything is a respite from soulless, gimmicky, and badly written “romantic” stories (yes, I’m talking about Cocktail 2). Mainly driven by Massey’s compelling performance, the series largely works as a comfort watch. I’m skeptical about an impending second season, though. Some stories are best right where they end. Let the audience imagine their own resolutions.
Toh, Ti Ani Fuji (Marathi) SonyLIV
Where Musafir Cafe leans into nostalgic wistfulness, Toh, Ti Ani Fuji challenges our notions of “great love,” asking a more uncomfortable question than whether it deserves a second chance: what if it was never meant to work in the first place? The film begins with an intriguing premise. Seven years after their volatile breakup in Pune, two former lovers cross paths unexpectedly in Tokyo. She (Mrinmayee Godbole) now lives there with her young son; he (Lalit Prabhakar) arrives with unresolved questions of their shared history. Takalkar and screenwriter Irawati Karnik choose to keep their characters unnamed. Simply credited as Toh and Ti (He and She), the narrative moves non-linearly between memories of Pune and their reunion, uncovering a bond fueled by attraction but sullied by insecurity, betrayal, and emotional abuse. Then there’s that difference in perspective: he remembers one version of their past, while she remembers another.
Prabhakar and Godbole are exceptional. Their electric chemistry explains why these two were drawn together, while their razor-sharp confrontations reveal why they could never survive each other. Mount Fuji functions as far more than picturesque scenery. For anyone lucky enough to have visited — and luckier still to have caught a glimpse of it — there is something almost mythical about its elusive beauty. Distant, magnificent, and frequently veiled in mist, it mirrors the relationship itself: gorgeous to gaze at from afar, but far more difficult and unforgiving up close. Because if Toh Ti Ani Fuji proves anything, it’s that real love definitely ain’t easy.
Baisakhi Roy is the editor of Canadian Immigrant. Her work has appeared in leading Canadian media outlets, including The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, and CBC. She specializes in stories at the intersection of immigrant life and culture in Canada, with a strong focus on workplace issues and diversity.