Netflix Content Head Summoned Over IC 814 Controversy: Report

'IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack' is facing controversy with netizens accusing it of hiding Muslim identities of hijackers. The same codenames are, however, mentioned in an MEA document from 2000.

Netflix content head has been summoned over the 'IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack' series directed by Anubhav Sinha. The series has become embroiled in controversy lately for hiding Muslim identities of IC 814 hijacks with alias'

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'IC 814' Controversy: The content head of Netflix is learnt to have been "summoned" over the web series, 'IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack', which was released on August 29. The series directed by Anubhav Sinha got embroiled in a controversy after it was alleged that the Muslim identities of IC-814 hijackers were hidden by giving them 'Hindu' aliases. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has asked the head of content at Netflix to appear before it on Tuesday, September 2, according to an India Today report.

The web series is based on a book, 'Flight into Fear: The Captain's Story', written by Devi Sharan, who was the captain of the hijacked flight, and journalist Srinjoy Chowdhury.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter) Monday morning, BJP's IT Cell national in-charge Amit Malviya criticised Anubhav Sinha for "legitimising" the "criminal intent" of the hijackers who had acquired Hindu names while executing the terror act.

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.

Left’s…

— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) September 1, 2024

The five men responsible for the hijack were depicted in the series with codenames such as 'Chief', 'Doctor', 'Burger', 'Bhola', and 'Shankar'. The protest is particularly over the two names, 'Bhola' and 'Shankar'.

Netflix has not said anything about the 'summons' issued to Monika Shergill, the content head of Netflix India.     

Does 'IC 814' Hide Muslim Identities Of Hijackers?  

'IC 814: The Kandahar Attack' dramatises events from the real-life hijack of an Indian Airlines Kathmandu-New Delhi flight that took place in 1999. 

While X users are accusing the filmmaker, Anubhav Sinha, of purposely choosing Hindu names, used as aliases for the terrorists, thereby misrepresenting facts and inciting religious discord, the codenames used in the web series were mentioned in an MEA document issued in the year 2000.

According to the MEA press release issued on January 6, 2000, around a week after the hijack, the Mumbai Police had caught four ISI operatives who reportedly comprised the support cell for the five terrorists who hijacked the plane. Identified as members of the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM), these four men revealed the names of the five hijackers, the MEA had said.   

The five were identified as Ibrahim Athar, Shahid Akhtar Sayed, Gulshan Iqbal, Sunny Ahmed Qazi, Mistri Zahoor Ibrahim, and Shakir. "...these hijackers came to be known respectively as (1) Chief, (2) Doctor, (3) Burger, (4) Bhola and (5) Shankar" to the passengers of the hijacked plane, the MEA said, adding that the hijackers also invariably addressed one another by these names.

The web series uses the same codenames for the hijackers. In one of the episodes, it also identified one of the terrorists hitherto called 'Chief' as 'Ibrahim'.   

The IC 814: Kandahar Hijack stars Vijay Varma, Naseeruddin Shah, Manoj Pahwa, Arvind Swami, Amrita Puri, DIa Mirza, Kumud Mushra, Arvind Swami, Patralekhaan, and several others in key roles.