- By Ridhi Suri
- Tue, 03 Sep 2024 09:58 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack has been making headlines since its release. The series, which aims to depict the events of the December 1999 Kandahar hijacking, is facing criticism for allegedly changing the terrorists’ names to non-Muslim ones and ‘whitewashing’ the grim incident. In response to these controversies, Captain Devi Sharan, the pilot of the hijacked flight, has clarified inaccuracies depicted in the series. In the series, Vijay Varma portrays Captain Sharan.
Devi Sharan revealed that scenes showing the pilot unclogging the plumbing lines and receiving a salute from the foreign minister after the siege did not occur in real life. He told Telegraph, "I did not fix the plumbing lines myself. They (Taliban authorities) sent a worker. I took him down into the aircraft hold as he would not know where the lines were."
Further, speaking about the scene involving the foreign minister, Devi Sharan added, "(Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh) made a gesture that showed appreciation of our efforts."
About IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack
For those unfamiliar, IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack recounts the distressing hijacking of an India-bound flight in December 1999. The flight, en route from Kathmandu to New Delhi, was seized by terrorists, and passengers and crew were held hostage for seven days. The hijackers demanded the release of three high-profile militants: Maulana Masood Azhar, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, and Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar. Later, Captain Sharan authored the book Flight Into Fear, which served as the inspiration for Anubhav Sinha’s Netflix series IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack.
The standoff ended with the militants being freed in exchange for the hostages. The incident resulted in one fatality. The series has faced calls for a boycott due to allegations that it altered the names of the hijackers.
Despite acclaim for its performances and storyline, it has been criticized for using 'Hindu' names for terrorists in a scene where these names are used as code words, leading to significant social media backlash. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has summoned Netflix's content head in response to the controversy.
ALSO READ: IC 814: Photo Of Real Government Officials Who Negotiated With Hijackers Goes Viral Amid Controversy
