IC-814 row: Netflix updates disclaimer ‘to include real, code names of hijackers’

Netflix India issued an official statement on Tuesday addressing the controversy surrounding the Anubhav Sinha-directed ‘IC-814: The Kandahar Hijack.’ The OTT platform's content head for India announded that the disclaimer of the web series has been updated to ‘include the real and code names of the hijackers.’

The Netflix docuseries ‘IC-814: The Kandahar Hijack,’ has been facing criticism from a section of social media users over its portrayal of the 1999 hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814. The series, based on real events, dramatises the hijacking by the Pakistan-based terror group Harkat-ul-Mujahideen.

Netflix India's content head, Monika Shergill, on Tuesday, met Information and Broadcasting Secretary Sanjay Jaju in Delhi after being summoned by them to explain the alleged controversial aspects of filmmaker Anubhav Sinha's ‘IC-814: The Kandahar Hijack.’

Voicing concern over the depiction of terrorists in the web series, a senior official had said nobody had the right to play with the sentiments of the nation, PTI reported, citing officials familiar with the development.

After the visit to the I&B ministry, Monika Shergill, the Vice President of Content, Netflix India, said, “For the benefit of audiences unfamiliar with the 1999 hijacking of the Indian Airlines flight 814, the opening disclaimer has been updated to include the real and code names of the hijackers. The code names in the series reflect those used during the actual event. India has a rich culture of story-telling, and we are committed to showcasing these stories and their authentic representation.”

Some netizens and BJP members had flagged the use of aliases of the Pakistan-based terrorists, which included the names ‘Shankar and Bhola’. The complainants alleged that the makers of the Netflix original series, Anubhav Sinha, had deliberately ‘hidden’ the ‘real names’ of the terrorists.

Using hashtags #BoycottNetflix, #BoycottBollywood and #IC814, many X users shared posts claiming the makers changed the names of the hijackers to 'Shankar' and 'Bhola' to protect the terrorists who belonged to a certain community.

Indian Airlines Flight 814

On December 24, 1999, Indian Airlines Flight 814, an Airbus A300 en route from Kathmandu to Delhi, was hijacked by five masked men shortly after entering Indian airspace, about 40 minutes into flying time.

The hijackers diverted the aircraft to Amritsar, Lahore, Dubai, and finally to Taliban-controlled Kandahar in Afghanistan.

The hijacking was to secure the release of three Pakistani terrorists—Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, Masood Azhar, and Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar— who were lodged in Indian jails at the time.

After a seven-day standoff, India agreed to release the terrorists, who have since then been linked to various other terrorist attacks, including the 2008 Mumbai attacks.