Netflix India Content Head Summoned in Explosive IC 814 Hijack Series Controversy: Government Investigates Alleged Name Changes of Terrorists

Netflix India’s Head Content Monika Shergill has been called by the Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry over the web series titled “IC 814 – The Kandahar Hijack”. The web series is directed by Anubhav Sinha and Trishant Srivastava based of the hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814 by Pakistan-based terror outfit Harkat-ul-Mujahideen in 1999. The controversy has risen in regards to portrayal of the hijackers, with many people accusing the series creators of changing the names of the terrorists to “Bhola” and “Shankar. “

Background of the Controversy

The web series is inspired by the book “Flight Into Fear: The Captain’s Story by Captain Devi Sharan, Flight Captain of the ill fated flight and Srinjoy Chowdhury, the journalist. It has the actor greats such as Naseeruddin Shah, Vijay Varma, and Pankaj Kapur that are in major roles. The series is based on real life incident of December 24, 1999 when flight 814 with 191 passengers on board was hijacked from Kathmandu, Nepal to Delhi shortly after its take off.

The hijackers having assumed the identities of passengers took over the plane and landed it in Amritsar, Lahore, Dubai and finally in Kandahar – Afghanistan. This paved way to a tense stand-off and finally the Indian Government, under then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee released three high-profile terrorists, namely – Masood Azhar, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar from Indian prisons for the safe release of the hostages.

Name Changes Spark Outrage

The conflict mainly arises due to nickname given to the hijackers in the web series. In the series, the hijackers are named “Bhola” and “Shankar” and this has been criticized a lot. In a Union Home Ministry statement on January 6, 2000, the hijackers were named as Ibrahim Athar, Shahid Akhtar Sayed, Sunny Ahmed Qazi, Mistri Zahoor Ibrahim and Shakir. However, the series is reported to have pioneered some names that some of its viewers associate with wrong religious background of the hijackers.

Some journalists who covered the hijacking in 1999 have said that passengers said that the hijackers were referring to each other with some names like ‘Chief’, ‘Doctor,’ ‘Burger,’ ‘Bhola’ and ‘Shankar,’ hence critics say such names could continue to fuel a narrative that is not correct.

Government Measures and People’s Perception

The Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry’s move to call out Monika Shergill proves that the government is worried about what the series may bring. The Ministry is said to be investigating if the changes in the names of the hijackers were intentional and if it would have the potential of confusing the audience over the people who are involved in the hijacking of planes.

The most prominent critic from the BJP camp is Amit Malviya who has been quite vocal in his criticism of the series. He accused the creators of attempting to ‘sanitize’ the Pakistani terrorists by bequeathing them non-Muslim identities. On X, which used to be Twitter, Malviya said: “The hijackers of IC-814 were dreaded terrorists who adopted pseudonyms to conceal their Muslim identity For the filmmaker Anubhav Sinha to amplify their misdeeds under their non-Muslim names, the outcome is this: Decades down the line, people will think Hindus hi-jacked IC-814.

”Some of Malviya’s statement has been providing more fuel to the fire, with some people agreeing with him that the series might mislead the future generations while others argued that the use of nicknames does not alter the historical facts of the occurrence.

The Role of the Web Series in Historical Narratives

This controversy represents a part of a whole in which the representation of history in film and other forms of media is a central topic. However, the issue of freedom of creating a film and the freedom of shaping the ideas of the audience are the two different aspects of filmmaking, and the filmmakers have the duty not to distort the important events in the history of a nation and, moreover, in the history of the world.

“IC 814 – The Kandahar Hijack” is available on Netflix for now and many people are watching it regardless of the whole scandal. But in the government’s investigation of the series and the measures that it may decide to take, only time will tell.

As this situation arises, it warrants understanding of freedom of expression and historical presentation in art especially on issues of terrorism and national security.

Please click the link to watch this series: https://www.netflix.com/title/81265803