IC 814, the Anubhav Sinha-directed web series on the Kandahar plane hijack, has been controversy's favourite child ever since its release on Netflix. The Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry has summoned Netflix content head over the names of the 4 hijackers in the series.
The Netflix content head has to appear before the I&B Ministry officials tomorrow, sources within the ministry told India Today. The series has faced flak from viewers and social media users alike for its depiction of events.
Using hashtags such as #IC814, #BoycottNetflix, and #BoycottBollywood, users claimed that the names of the 4 hijackers were deliberately changed. Social media users accused Anubhav Sinha for deliberately distorting facts and using the series as "propaganda".
In the series, hijackers were referred to as Chief, Doctor, Burger, Bhola and Shankar. BJP social media head Amit Malviya called out the makers of the web series for this distortion.
Malviya said: "The hijackers of IC-814 were dreaded terrorists, who acquired aliases to hide their Muslim identities. Filmmaker Anubhav Sinha, legitimised their criminal intent, by furthering their non-Muslim names. Result? Decades later, people will think Hindus hijacked IC-814."
He further claimed that this will not only weaken or put in question India's security apparatus in the long run but also shift the blame away from the religious cohort responsible for the bloodshed.
As per a statement by the Home Ministry on January 6, 2000, the real names of the hijackers were Ibrahim Athar (Bahawalpur), Shahid Akhtar Sayed (Gulshan Iqbal, Karachi), Sunny Ahmed Qazi (Defence Area, Karachi), Mistri Zahoor Ibrahim (Akhtar Colony, Karachi), and Shakir (Sukkur City).
The statement further mentioned that to the passengers, these hijackers were known as Chief, Doctor, Burger, Bhola and Shankar. It also noted that the hijackers addressed one another by these names in front of the passengers.
Inspired by the book "Flight into Fear: The Captain's Story" by journalist Srinjoy Chowdhury and Captain Devi Sharan, the Netflix series is based on the hijacking incident.
The series features a stellar cast, including Vijay Varma, Naseeruddin Shah, Pankaj Kapur, Manoj Pahwa, Arvind Swami, Anupam Tripathi, Dia Mirza, Patralekhaa, Amrita Puri, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, and Kumud Mishra, in key roles.
On December 31, 1999, three militants were surrendered in exchange for the release of the remaining passengers and crew of Indian Airlines Flight 814.
However, the hijackers themselves were allowed to flee to Pakistan, where they remained at large, further exacerbating tensions between India and Pakistan.