'Heroes still exist': 'Hanuman Ansh' actor Shobhinaw Satyaa hails Captain Smit Machchhar's bravery, says the midair ordeal proved the power of Hanuman Chalisa

Actor Shobhinaw Satyaa, who plays Neem Karoli Baba in Hanuman Ansh, has lavished praise on flydubai pilot Captain Smit Machchhar, saying the officer's conduct during the recent midair incident — and his account of chanting the Hanuman Chalisa through the ordeal — has only deepened his own faith.

Speaking at an India Today event, Satyaa said stories of courage are usually associated with the past, but incidents like this one remind people that such bravery still exists in the present.

"We have grown up listening to stories of bravery. But those stories often made us feel that such things happened a long time ago, that there were people like that in the past. Incidents like these remind us that heroes still exist," the actor said.

A midair ordeal aboard flydubai FZ1073

The incident took place on September 30 aboard flydubai flight FZ1073, which was carrying 174 passengers and was bound for Israel. According to the account cited in reports, Machchhar was seriously injured after his co-pilot, an Omani national, allegedly attacked him with a crash axe kept in the cockpit for emergency purposes. The motive behind the alleged attack remains unclear.

'The power of the Hanuman Chalisa'

Satyaa also referred to Machchhar's virtual interaction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during which the pilot said that he chanted the Hanuman Chalisa with his son every day. For the actor, that detail stood out just as strongly as the account of the incident itself.

"The bigger thing was that he also made us realise the power of the Hanuman Chalisa. When that man recited the Hanuman Chalisa there, he touched upon something that is a matter of faith for us," Satyaa said.

After watching Machchhar's conversation with the Prime Minister, the actor said he immediately recorded a video and shared it on social media.

"I thanked him a lot for bringing this out in the open. He made our faith, which was already so strong, even more unshakeable," he added.

Satyaa's comments add to the growing admiration for Machchhar, who has been celebrated both for his courage in the cockpit and for the faith he says carried him through one of the most harrowing episodes in recent aviation memory.