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IC 814 The Kandahar Hijack: Who is Devi Sharan? Meet the real-life hero pilot, played by Vijay Varma in Netflix’s web-series directed by Anubhav Sinha
Vijay Varma is receiving immense appreciation for his portrayal in IC 814 The Kandahar Hijack. Read to know about real-life pilot Devi Sharan, who inspired the character in Anubhav Sinha’s show.
Vijay Varma starrer web show, IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack has been making immense buzz on the internet. While the series is grabbing attention from the cinephiles, it has also brought attention to the real man, Captain Devi Sharan played by Varma.
Inspired by true events, Anubhav Sinha’s IC 814 The Kandahar Hijack is based on the book, Flight Into Fear penned by Captain Devi Sharan and Srinjoy Chowdhary. It is considered to be the longest hijack drama in the aviation history. In the book, Sharan narrates the entire suffering, his behavior, and how he managed to maintain his calm during the hijack.
Despite a lot of pressure amid tension, it was Sharan’s composure and prompt decision-making that played an important role in guaranteeing the passengers' safety. On December 24, 1999, the pilot of IC 814, Devi Sharan was bringing 188 passengers and the crew home including honeymooners, holiday-makers and businessmen. He was accompanied by the first officer Rajinder Kumar and flight engineer Anil Kumar Jaggia.
It was the last Christmas Eve of the millennium and Sharan was supposed to go on a vacation with his family. However, destiny had its own plans. On the fateful day, the flight was hijacked by 5 masked men for 8 days.
The hijackers had links with Al-Qaeda and the sole aim to free one of the most dangerous terrorists, Maulana Masood Azhar(jailed in India for 4 years), Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, and Mushtaq Ahmad Zargar.
The hijacked plane was distracted to multiple locations including Lahore and Amritsar before eventually landing in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Recounting the harrowing experience, in an interaction with CNN, the pilot revealed that he was instructed to take the flight to Pakistan. However, when the permission was denied, he diverted the flight to Amritsar.
The situation intensified when the hijackers forced him to take off from Amritsar on dangerously low fuel, indifferent to the risk of a crash as they didn’t want to die in India. When the flight finally reached Lahore, the runway lights at the Lahore airport were switched off, and the runway was closed.
Since he was running out of fuel running out, Sharan had prepared himself for a crash landing. However, he canceled his intentions to crash the plane after realizing that there were people on the ground. On the other hand, the situation took a dramatic turn when Pakistani airport authorities saw an impending danger and gave the flight clearance to land just in time.
Despite the fact, the harrowing incident was far from over. After refueling at the Lahore airport, the hijackers were instructed to fly the plane to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where they released 26 passengers and the body of a passenger who had been killed aboard the flight.
The hijacking incident lasted for almost a week, during which extreme negotiations took place between the hijackers and the Indian government. The crisis finally ended when the Indian government agreed to release the terrorists imprisoned in India.
During a roundtable conversation with Netflix, director Anubhav Sinha revealed that
from where the hijackers had put the gun on him. "It kept rubbing against his skin for so long that it left a mark, and the mark is still there," the director shared.
Apart from Vijay Varma, the series stars Patralekhaa, Dia Mirza, Kumud Mishra, and Naseeruddin Shah in key roles. It is currently streaming on Netflix.
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