On Tuesday, India took the bold step of sending a dozen warplanes into Pakistan. They dropped bombs on what India claimed was a terrorist training camp, though witnesses in the area said the bombs had fallen in an empty forest, injuring one man, an older villager.

Pakistan retaliated on Wednesday by flying planes across the border into Indian air space.

While Indian officials have not detailed how Wing Commander Varthaman was shot down, Western officials said they believe he was lured into a trap by Pakistani jets.

They say that after Pakistani jets crossed into Indian airspace, they quickly turned and flew away, tempting their pursuers into an area well covered by Pakistani air defenses, which then hit Wing Commander Varthaman’s plane with a surface-to-air missile.

Wing Commander Varthaman, the son of veteran combat pilot, seemed self-confident throughout the recorded interrogation sessions. He answered some questions, without appearing nervous, and then refused to answer others, like what his mission was, saying: “I’m sorry, sir. That’s all I’m supposed to tell you.”

Asked in a 2011 television documentary what it took to be a fighter pilot, he said, “Bad attitude!”

In one of the videos from this week, he is seen drinking tea and looking relaxed.

“I hope you’ve been treated well with us?” a Pakistani officer asks in English.

“Yes,” Mr. Varthaman says. “I have, and I would like to put this on record and I will not change my statement if I go back to my country also. The officers of the Pakistani Army have looked after me very well. They are thorough gentlemen.”

“This is what I would expect my army to behave as,” he adds. “Am very impressed by the Pakistani Army.”