After facing strong backlash, Netflix on Tuesday, September 3, announced that they will update its latest series IC-814: The Kandahar Hijack, streaming on its platform. Following the Union government’s intervention, the streaming giant has agreed to update the series' disclaimer by including the real names of the terrorists involved in the 1999 hijacking.
IC814: The Kandahar Hijacking is a fictionalised limited series, which was released on Netflix on August 29. The series directed by filmmaker Anubhav Sinha landed in a controversy over the ‘Hindu’ names of terrorists in the series.
The series is based on the 1999 hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814 by Pakistan-based terror outfit Harkat-ul-Mujahideen. The portrayal of the hijackers in the series, particularly the use of names like ‘Bhola’ and ‘Shankar,’ has been criticised by Hindu-right wing who claimed that the series was “distorting historical facts” and offending Hindu sentiments.
But these were the actual code names used by the terrorists during the hijack.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) IT cell chief Amit Malviya also joined the campaign over the depiction of the terrorists in the series. Subsequently, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting issued summons to Netflix representatives.
On September 3, Netflix India's content head Monika Shergill met with officials from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to address the issue. During the meeting, Shergill assured the government that Netflix would ensure future content aligns with "nation's sentiments."
She also confirmed that the disclaimer at the beginning of the series would be updated to clarify both the real and code names of the hijackers.
"For the benefit of audiences unfamiliar with the 1999 hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814, the opening disclaimer has been updated to include the real and code names of the hijackers. The codenames in the series reflect those used during the actual event. India has a rich culture of storytelling — and we are committed to showcasing these stories and their authentic representation," Shergill stated.
On December 24, 1999, five terrorists—Ibrahim Athar, Sunny Ahmed Qazi, Zahoor Ibrahim, Shahid Akhter, and Sayed Shakir—hijacked the IC-814 plane during its flight from Kathmandu to Delhi. The hijacking resulted in a tense eight-day standoff, with 154 passengers and crew held hostage. It ended when the Indian government agreed to release three high-profile terrorists—Masood Azhar, Omar Sheikh, and Mushtaq Ahmad Zargar—in exchange for the hostages.
A Union Home Ministry document released shortly after the 1999 incident clarified that the hijackers used codenames like Bhola, Shankar, Doctor, and Burger among themselves while inside the plane. "To the passengers of the hijacked place these hijackers came to be known respectively as (1) Chief, (2) Doctor, (3) Burger, (4) Bhola and (5) Shankar, the names by which the hijackers invariably addressed one another," the government statement reads.
The series stars Bollywood actors Vijay Varma, Naseeruddin Shah, Pankaj Kapur, Dia Mirza, Arvind Swamy, Manoj Pahwa, Kumud Mishra, Aditya Srivastava, and Patralekhaa among others.