The government has summoned the content head of the streaming platform Netflix regarding the series ‘IC-814 — The Kandahar Hijack’. This series has sparked controversy over its portrayal of the hijackers. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has called for an explanation from Netflix India about the allegedly contentious aspects of the show. The depiction of the hijackers of the Indian Airlines flight from Kathmandu to Delhi has caused an uproar, with some viewers objecting to the ‘humane’ representation of the perpetrators. The BJP IT Cell chief has stated that the hijackers of IC-814 were notorious terrorists who used aliases to conceal their Muslim identities. The series, which dramatizes the infamous 1999 hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814 by the Pakistan-based terror group Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, has faced backlash on social media for allegedly changing the names of two hijackers to Hindu names. The show chronicles the harrowing experience of the hundreds of passengers and the challenges faced by the government as the flight was diverted to multiple locations before ending up in Taliban-controlled Kandahar, Afghanistan. The hijackers in the series are depicted with the codenames Chief, Doctor, Burger, Bhola, and Shankar.
The film ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’ has faced criticism for its portrayal of the characters’ names, which some believe misrepresents the facts and could potentially cause religious tensions. The controversy has sparked a heated online debate, with the director, Anubhav Sinha, being accused of distorting the facts. The series is based on the book ‘Flight into Fear: The Captain’s Story’, written by journalist Srinjoy Chowdhury and Devi Sharan, the captain of the hijacked flight. The series features a talented cast, including Vijay Varma, Naseeruddin Shah, Pankaj Kapur, and others, but has come under intense scrutiny from viewers and political leaders alike for its depiction of one of India’s most alarming aviation crises.
