Recently, IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack, directed by Anubhav Sinha, has garnered significant attention for its story and quality; however, it has also received backlash and criticism for alleged historical inaccuracies and the depiction of hijackers. On Tuesday, Netflix India content chief Monika Shergill was summoned by the government following a dispute over the portrayal of hijackers in IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack.
All About The IC 814 Row
On Monday, according to government officials, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting asked Monika Shergill to explain the alleged problematic scenes of the web series. The series is based on the 1999 hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight IC 814 by the terrorist group Harkat-ul-Mujahideen. After two hijackers who were only mentioned by their Hindu code name, it became a hot topic on social media and erupted in controversy. In the series, two hijackers were called Bhola and Shankar which caused a big problem. Critics targeted director, Anubhav Sinha saying that the show should have made it clear that the hijackers were five Muslim terrorists and that two of them used false names.
Captain Devi Sharan, who was the pilot of the hijacked plane, opened up about the incorrect scenarios shown in the series. He talked about two scenes which showed inaccuracies, one of them which was played by Vijay Varma draining the aircraft’s plumbing lines. In an interview with The Telegraph, he did not do it alone he added that the Taliban authorities sent a worker and since he wouldn’t know where the lines were, he had to take him down into the aircraft hold. Furthermore, he also added the portrayal of the salute by Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh was exaggerated. Following the outrage, Netflix has vowed to ensure that future content reflects national sentiments and the sensitivity of children. According to government sources, Netflix will undergo a content evaluation to ensure that all content is sensitive towards national sentiments and children.