Manipuri IAF officer set for reel debut
Source: The Sangai Express / Laishram Shamungou

Imphal, October 12: Notwithstanding dearth of action movies in Bollywood, leave alone films on armed forces, the Indian Air Force would be showcased in the world of cinema with all its capability, efficiency and quarantined lives of Air Force officers and cadets, thanks to a Manipuri Wing Commander.

Just as the Hollywood movie Top Gun depicted and enhanced the prowess and capability of US Air Force, the Wing Commander is hoping to fly at a higher altitude than Top Gun with his two hour feature film on IAF.

IAF Officer Keithelakpam Tarunkumar Singh

It is not the multi-million producers and big directors of Bollywood that is embarking on this grand and unprecedented venture.

It is one Keithelakpam Tarunkumar Singh, also known as TK Singh who hails from the trouble torn North Eastern State of Manipur.

The two hour feature film on IAF slated for release next year in conjunction with the platinum jubilee of the air force would be sponsored by the National Film Development Corporation.

Though TK Singh is new to feature films, he has many documentary films to his credit.

Born on May 31, 1964 at Lamagram (Silchar) to Flying Officer Herendra and Basanti, TK Singh did his schooling at Military School, Bangalore.

He joined NDA in 1981 after which he was commissioned as pilot officer in 1985. Tarunkumar's forefathers were among the families who fled from Manipur and settled at Barak valley during the Seven Years' Devastation.

Interacting with The Sangai Express, the Wing Commander disclosed that the primary motivation behind his venture to make a feature film on IAF was to popularise IAF and present it as a lucrative profession.

Informing that he had submitted a paper highlighting the concept of the film to the IAF Hqs, TK exuded confidence that the Ministry of Defence would also approve his venture.

The materials and resources necessary for the filmmaking would be provided by Southern Air Command.

Most probably, the film may feature Bollywood actress Sushmita Sen in a lead role, said TK Singh adding that the film might be released in October next year in India and abroad.

Though feature films is still an unchartered zone for the IAF Wing Commander, he is not a novice in the field of documentary films.

While he was a PRO at Shillong and Ahmedabad, he had produced seven documentary films on Air Force, Army, BRO and Coast Guard.

With a thought to catch the pristine beauty of North East in films and to present the same to the people of the country and abroad, TK Singh, in collaboration with Doordarshan produced a 30 minute documentary film titled, "Sentinels of the Eastern Sky" in 1999. This was followed by "Wing of Pursuit" for the Army in 2000. The film demonstrates detection of IEDs from helicopters.

Then "Bridging Highways for Progress" was produced documenting the hard lives of BRO personnel in the deep jungles of North East.

"Air Warrior in the Land of Donyie Poro" highlighted the service of helicopter as the principal means of long distance transport in Arunachal Pradesh.

In 2002 TK Singh made "Boundless Valour" for Eastern Air Command.

Next year, he produced a documentary film on the exploits and operations of South Western Air Command in Rajasthan, Maharastra, Gujarat and Arabian Sea.

His latest flick, produced this year, was also a documentary film called "Saviours Beyond the Shore" showing the feats of Indian Coast Guard.

The extraordinary talent and successful forays into the wide horizons of cinema had won the Air Force Wing Commander had won him several accolades including commendations from the Chief of Air Staff, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief and Flag Officer-in-Chief (Navy) and the acclaimed Vasist Seva Medal (VSM) this year.

Not only is TK Singh a devout film maker and an illustrious flying officer, he has also keen interest in music.

He had learnt Hindustani music from the noted playback singer Sonu Nigam.

Another outstanding character of the Air Force officer is that he is a multi-linguist, quite fluent in English, Hindi, Assamese, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Kannada and Bengali even though ironically he could not write and speak Manipuri at ease.