Actor Vijay Varma shared a set of photos on Saturday with Captain Devi Sharan, the real-life pilot he portrays in the upcoming Netflix thriller series IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack, based on the 1999 hijacking of a New Delhi-bound flight.

The first picture shows Vijay posing with Sharan in a flight’s cockpit. While Vijay dons a white suit, Captain Sharan sports a black shirt paired with a beige trouser. In the second photo, Vijay and Captain Sharan twin in white shirt and black blazer.

“Real and Reel Captain Sharan When I first met captain.. I was taken in by his pleasant smile and his simplicity..It was such a huge honour to get to depict Captain Devi Sharan on screen,” Vijay wrote alongside the photos on Instagram.

“His efforts to save lives amidst chaos and dread is truly inspiring! A tale of resilience and honour.. of critical thinking and duty.. of patience and hope and most of all.. bravery. We salute you captain ,” he added.

Marking filmmaker Anubhav Sinha’s OTT debut, IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack focuses on the events following the hijack of an Indian Airlines flight shortly after it took off from Kathmandu. The series features an ensemble cast including Patralekhaa, Dia Mirza, Pankaj Kapur and Naseeruddin Shah.

Recalling the time he asked Captain Sharan about a scar on his neck, Vijay wrote, “I asked him about it.. he simply and politely said ‘woh hijackers ki gun 7 din tak yahi ragadti rahi toh wound ho gaya tha jo heal nahi hua’ I froze. He smiled. I knew I was talking to a real life hero.”

Also starring Amrita Puri, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Pooja Gor, Anupam Tripathi, Kanwaljit Singh, Aditya Srivastava, Sushant Singh and Yashpal Sharma, IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack is set to stream on Netflix from August 29.