A still from the web series ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Pooja Kataria, a passenger on the IC-814 flight hijacked in 1999 says viewers should approach the recently released web series based on the incident as entertainment rather than sparking controversy.

Sharing her review of the Anubhav Sinha directorial limited series based on the real event released on Netflix, Ms. Kataria relived her experience with the hijackers.

Speaking to ANI, Ms. Kataria said, “We were returning from Nepal when the aeroplane got hijacked. There were 176 passengers on the flight. Just half an hour after the flight took off, it was hijacked.”

“There were 5 hijackers in the plane. We were all scared and didn’t have any idea about our whereabouts. We were given nothing to eat, except a small apple on a day,” Ms. Kataria recalled.

“I don’t know why people are making a controversy around the series. The series is based on a real event and the names of the hijackers used in the series are also factual,” Ms. Kataria said.

Further, she said, “One of the hijackers who was called Burger celebrated my birthday on the hijacked plane and also gifted me his shawl on that day. Another hijacker who identified himself as Doctor used to give speeches on Islam on the plane and seemed to be an intelligent individual.” Ms. Kataria shared a paper clipping from the incident and memorabilia from the hijack.

‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’ has triggered a row on social media over the names of the hijackers in the series. Netflix later updated its disclaimer with the real and code names of the hijackers.

“For the benefit of audiences unfamiliar with the 1999 hijacking of the Indian Airlines flight 814, the opening disclaimer has been updated to include the real and code names of the hijackers. The code names in the series reflect those used during the actual event. India has a rich culture of story-telling and we are committed to showcasing these stories and their authentic representation,” said Monika Shergill, vice-president of content, at Netflix India.

The updation of the disclaimer followed after Shergill met with Joint Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in Delhi on Tuesday (September 3, 2024). The meeting was held in view of certain contentious issues on the web series based on the IC-814 hijacking.

Additionally, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) had also been filed in the Delhi High Court by Surjit Singh Yadav, Chief of Hindu Sena, seeking a ban on the Netflix series. The PIL alleged that the series distorts the actual identities of the terrorists involved in the hijacking. The petition claimed that the miniseries erroneously assigns Hindu names such as “Bhola” and “Shankar” — names associated with Lord Shiva — to the real hijackers Ibrahim Akhtar, Shahid Akhtar Sayeed, Sunny Ahmed Qazi, Zahoor Mistry, and Shakir.

The Hijack drama is created by Anubhav Sinha and Trishant Shrivastava. It stars actors Naseeruddin Shah, Pankaj Kapur, Vijay Varma, Arvind Swamy, Patralekhaa and Dia Mirza.

The six-episode series is based on the events of December 24, 1999, when an Indian Airlines flight IC 814 en route to Delhi from Kathmandu was hijacked after takeoff from the Kathmandu Tribhuvan International Airport in Nepal shortly after it entered Indian airspace.

New Delhi:

Amid the controversy surrounding the Netflix series ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’, which tells the story of the hijack of Indian Airlines flight IC-814 by Pakistan-based terror outfit Harkat-ul-Mujahideen in 1999, Anil Sharma, who was present in the hijacked Airbus aircraft as chief steward, and saw the series of events unfolding in front of his eyes, said on Tuesday that some of the scenes in the web series are fictitious.

After the series was released, several social media users accused its creators — Anubhav Sinha and Trishant Srivastava — of changing the names of two hijackers to ‘Bhola’ and ‘Shankar’, thus hurting Hindu sentiments.

Interacting with IANS about the controversy, Mr Sharma said the names — Bhola and Shankar — of two hijackers presented in the web series are ‘imaginary’, and not their real names.

“That (actual identities) should have been highlighted. The intent of the makers of web series did not seem good to me. No crew member was injured or stabbed. The hijackers also never slapped any air hostess,” he told IANS.

Mr Sharma said that he realised the seriousness of the situation only after he and his colleague were asked to ‘handle a body’ (to dispose) at the Dubai airport. He was referring to a passenger who was stabbed by the hijackers.

“A lot of things have happened… and my remarks are not going to change anything,” he said.

Mr Sharma further said that though it is easy to criticise Jaswant Singh (then External Affairs Minister) over his role in the matter, the latter’s visit to Kandahar “made a positive impact”.

“However, India paid a heavy price after the release of three terrorists. A lot of terrorist attacks took place in India afterwards and Pakistani involvement was also there,” he said.

Mr Sharma also called for setting up a decision-making body over certain controversial scenes so that no provocation happens.

Stopping short of directly criticising the web series makers, he added that everything cannot be measured by profit-making parameters and the conscience should realise that “something wrong is being done”.

Earlier, facing flak from different quarters, Netflix India on Tuesday updated the opening disclaimer for the series to include the hijackers’ real as well as code names.

Monika Shergill, Netflix Vice President (Content, India), said in a statement: “For the benefit of audiences unfamiliar with the 1999 hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814, the opening disclaimer has been updated to include the real and code names of the hijackers. The code names in the series reflect those used during the actual event.”

On December 24, 1999, five hijackers took control of an Indian Airlines flight after it took off from Kathmandu en route to Delhi, and diverted it to Kandahar in Afghanistan after making landings in Amritsar, Lahore, and Dubai.

The Indian government had to release three terrorists — Masood Azhar, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, and Mushtaq Zargar — to secure the safe release of 154 hostages.

The Union Home Ministry in January 2000 revealed the real names of the hijackers – Ibrahim Athar, Shahid Akhtar Sayed, Sunny Ahmed Qazi, Mistri Zahoor Ibrahim, and Shakir. The ministry also said during the hijacking, they referred to each other by code names — ‘Bhola’, ‘Shankar’, ‘Chief’, ‘Doctor’, and ‘Burger’.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Netflix India has updated the opening disclaimer on its ‘IC-814 Kandahar Hijack” web series to include hijackers’ real and code names, Monika Shergill, the OTT giant’s Vice President (Content, India), said.

“For the benefit of audiences unfamiliar with the 1999 hijacking, the opening disclaimer has been updated… code names in the series now reflect those used during the event,” she said Tuesday.

Ms Shergill also said Netflix is “committed to showcasing stories with authentic representation”.

A massive row had erupted over the Netflix drama, which tells the story of the hijack of Indian Airlines flight IC-814 by Pakistan-based terror outfit Harkat-ul-Mujahideen in 1999. Five hijackers took control of the plane and diverted it to Afghanistan, which was then ruled by the Taliban.

The government, then led by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, released three terrorists – Masood Azhar, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and Mushtaq Zargar – to secure the release of 154 hostages.

The ‘Bhola’, ‘Shankar’ Row

After the series was published hundreds of social media users accused the creators – Anubhav Sinha and Trishant Srivastava – of changing the names of two hijackers to ‘Bhola’ and ‘Shankar’.

This has been claimed as distortion of historical facts and critics have declared it misrepresents the terrorists’ real identities. They have also claimed it, therefore, offends Hindu sentiments.

READ | “Nobody Has Right To…”: Why Netflix Content Chief Was Summoned

However, in January 2000 the Union Home Ministry had revealed the real names of the five hijackers – Ibrahim Athar, Shahid Akhtar Sayed, Sunny Ahmed Qazi, Mistri Zahoor Ibrahim and Shakir.

The ministry noted that during the hijacking and the hostage scenario they referred to each other by code names, two of which were ‘Bhola’ and ‘Shankar’. The others were ‘chief’, ‘doctor’, and ‘burger’.

Journalists who covered the hijacking live put out social media posts amid the controversy, saying that passengers had told them the hijackers had, in fact, used these names to address each other.

“Playing With Indians Sentiments”

The protests had led to Ms Shergill being summoned by the Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry. Sources told NDTV she had been called as the government is taking the matter “very seriously”, and that “nobody has the right to play with the Indian people’s sentiments”.

READ | “Content Per Nation’s Sentiments”: Centre-Netflix IC 814 Series Meet

Earlier today Netflix India officials met government officials for over an hour, after which sources told NDTV the streaming service said future content will tally with those “sentiments”.

BJP social media chief Amit Malviya posted a vicious attack on X, accusing the creators of the series of trying to whitewash the criminal actions of Pakistani terrorists by giving them Hindu names.

On the other side, opposition leaders like Priyanka Chaturvedi of the Shiv Sena (UBT) and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah criticised the selective outrage, and pointed to historical inaccuracies in other contentious films and series in recent months.

NDTV Explains | Controversy Surrounding Netflix’s ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’

The political spat aside there were demands on social media to boycott Netflix.

Netflix’s IC-814 Story

The Netflix re-telling is inspired by events on flight IC-814 and on ground in Kandahar and Delhi, as well as the book ‘Flight Into Fear: The Captain’s Story’ by Devi Sharan, who was the plane’s captain.

It stars Naseeruddin Shah and Pankaj Kapur in key roles.

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