Mumbai, Feb 13 (IANS): Actor Varun Tej has shared insights into his character of an Air Force fighter pilot in the film 'Operation Valentine', and said that roles like these are not easy, revealing about the homework he did in order to bring realism.

Talking about the challenges of portraying Arjun in the action thriller, Varun said: "Roles like these are not easy, and it's not like you are experienced or you see people from the Air Force in your day-to-day life."

"There was some homework that we did. We had a person from IAF who was working with us from the time the script was being made because we wanted to make a film that IAF is proud of also," shared the 'Ghani' actor.

Speaking about the importance of authenticity in his portrayal, Varun commented: "Even after that, we had a couple of IAF people also on the sets, who tried to correct us, our body language, and obviously we met a lot of fighter pilots, engaged in conversation with them, and got to know a lot about their missions, training, and their day-to-day life to understand."

"It's very important to bring some realism to your character, especially when it's a film like this, but if you’re adorning real heroes of our country you really need to act right," he added.

Directed by Shakti Pratap Singh Hada, in his directorial debut, the movie also stars Manushi Chhillar.

It will hit the screens on February 16.