Actor Shobhinaw Satyaa, known for portraying Neem Karoli Baba in Hanuman Ansh, has praised Captain Smit Machchhar following reports of a midair incident involving a flydubai flight. The actor said the pilot’s account of chanting the Hanuman Chalisa during the ordeal had deepened his faith and reminded him that acts of courage are not confined to stories from the past.
Speaking at an India Today event, Shobhinaw reflected on how accounts of bravery often seem to belong to another era. According to the actor, incidents such as the one involving Machchhar serve as a reminder that courageous people continue to emerge in the present day.
“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,” he said.
Shobhinaw Satyaa speaks about the power of Hanuman Chalisa
The actor also recalled Captain Machchhar’s virtual interaction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during which the pilot reportedly shared that he chants the Hanuman Chalisa every day with his son.
For Shobhinaw, the account carried a significance beyond the circumstances of the incident. He said the pilot’s reference to the Hindu devotional hymn resonated deeply with his own faith.
“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,” the actor said.
Shobhinaw added that he recorded and posted a video on social media after watching the pilot’s interaction with the Prime Minister. He said he wanted to thank Machchhar for speaking openly about his experience and its connection to his faith.
“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.
What happened aboard the flydubai flight?
According to the account provided in the report, the incident occurred on September 30 aboard flydubai flight FZ1073, which was reportedly carrying 174 passengers and travelling to Israel.
Captain Machchhar was reportedly seriously injured in an alleged attack by his co-pilot, identified in the report as an Omani national. The co-pilot allegedly used a crash axe kept in the cockpit for emergency purposes. The motive behind the alleged attack remains unclear, according to the information cited in the report.
The incident has drawn attention to the pilot’s account of the ordeal, while Shobhinaw’s remarks have highlighted the personal and spiritual significance he attached to the story.
The actor’s response centres on two themes: admiration for a pilot’s reported courage in a frightening situation and the role that faith can play in how people understand difficult experiences.
