Anubhav Sinha’s Netflix series IC: 814 The Kandahar Hijack has faced scrutiny due to its portrayal of hijackers, who were given Hindu names. On Tuesday, September 3, 2024, Monika Shergill, Head of Content at Netflix India, met with the Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and stated that the streaming giant will further “review content’. Shergill was called to Shastri Bhawan to discuss the contentious aspects of the series, which is based on the hijacking of IC-814.
Anubhav Sinha’s Netflix series IC: 814 The Kandahar Hijack has faced scrutiny due to its portrayal of hijackers, who were given Hindu names. On Tuesday, September 3, 2024, Monika Shergill, Head of Content at Netflix India, met with the Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and stated that the streaming giant will further “review sensitive content”. Shergill was called to Shastri Bhawan to discuss the contentious aspects of the series, which is based on the hijacking of IC-814.
In response to the backlash and ongoing controversy, Netflix has pledged to ensure that future content on its platform aligns with national sentiments. “Netflix has assured to conduct a content review and guarantee that all future content on their platform will be sensitive to and in accordance with the nation’s sentiments as well as children’s sensitivity,” government sources said.
Media reports indicate that Netflix has also committed to addressing concerns related to age-appropriateness and national security, and will provide updates on its approach to resolving these issues.
For those unfamiliar, the series has sparked controversy on social media due to the depiction and codenames of the hijackers. Although the hijackers were identified as Muslims following the 1999 incident, the show assigns them Hindu names. It is worth noting that ‘Bhola’ and ‘Shankar’ are their codenames. Critics have argued that the creators should have clarified this in the web series.
Following the 1999 hijacking incident, the five hijackers were identified as Ibrahim Athar, Shahid Akhtar Sayed, Sunny Ahmed Qazi, Zahoor Mistry, and Shakir, who were affiliated with a Pakistan-based terrorist organization.
After the release of the web series on August 29, 2024, there was significant backlash from netizens regarding the Hindu codenames assigned to the hijacker characters. Additionally, Surjit Singh Yadav, Chief of Hindu Sena, filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Delhi High Court, seeking a ban on IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack. The PIL contends that the series misrepresents the actual identities of the terrorists involved in the hijacking.
The six-episode drama features a cast including Naseeruddin Shah, Pankaj Kapur, Vijay Varma, Arvind Swamy, Patralekhaa, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, and Dia Mirza.
The series is based on the events of December 24, 1999, when Indian Airlines flight IC 814, traveling from Kathmandu to Delhi, was hijacked after departing from Kathmandu Tribhuvan International Airport in Nepal and entering Indian airspace.
