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IC 814 Controversy: Netflix India’s content head summoned over alteration of hijackers' names in Vijay Varma starrer series; Reports
As per reports, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has summoned Netflix India's Head of Content amid the controversy over the web series IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack, starring Vijay Varma.
The new thriller series IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack, featuring Vijay Verma in lead role, recently premiered on Netflix. However, upon its release, it stirred significant controversy, prompting the government to summon Netflix India's content head. This action came after widespread criticism on social media, where many users accused the creators of altering the hijackers' names in the Netflix’s web series.
A report in news agency ANI stated that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has summoned Netflix India's Head of Content amid controversy surrounding the modification of names of the terrorists in series IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack. In reality, the hijackers were Ibrahim Athar, Shahid Akhtar Sayed, Sunny Ahmed Qazi, Mistri Zahoor Ibrahim, and Shakir. However, the series features altered names like 'Shankar,' 'Bhola,' and titles such as 'Chief,' 'Doctor,' and 'Burger.'
The summon comes amid a growing trend on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), where users have called for a boycott of the series IC 814. Critics have used hashtags such as #IC814, #BoycottNetflix, and #BoycottBollywood to accuse the series of deliberately altering the names of the four hijackers. They called the series a ‘propaganda’ and argued that Anubhav Sinha has distorted historical facts.
The web series, crafted by Anubhav Sinha and Trishant Srivastava, draws inspiration from the book Flight Into Fear: The Captain's Story by Devi Sharan, the flight's captain, and journalist Srinjoy Chowdhury. Featuring Naseeruddin Shah, Vijay Varma, and Pankaj Kapur in prominent roles, the series dramatizes the hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814 on December 24, 1999.
The aircraft, with 191 passengers, departed from Kathmandu, Nepal, bound for Delhi. Shortly after takeoff, five hijackers, disguised as passengers, seized control of the plane. The flight subsequently made multiple stops in Amritsar, Lahore, and Dubai before being diverted to Kandahar, Afghanistan. In a bid to secure the hostages' release, the Indian government, under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, agreed to release three terrorists, named Masood Azhar, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, and Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar, from Indian prisons.
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