Director Anubhav Sinha's web series 'IC 814: The Kandahar Hijacking' was released on Netflix on August 29. While the show has been well-received by the public, it has also sparked controversy. The controversy escalated to the extent that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, summoned Monica Shergill, the Head of Content at Netflix India, to Delhi for an explanation.
Despite the uproar on social media, the real-life pilot of the hijacked aircraft has pointed out two significant inaccuracies in the show.
The Real Pilot Identifies Mistakes
In 1999, when Indian Airlines flight IC 814 was hijacked from Kathmandu to Delhi, Captain Devi Sharan was the pilot. In the Netflix show, Vijay Varma plays his role. Devi Sharan has now highlighted two events depicted in the series that didn't happen in real life.
One scene shows the plane's toilets getting severely clogged upon reaching Kandahar, leading Vijay Varma's character to personally fix the plumbing line. When he returns, all the passengers applaud his efforts. However, this event never occurred in reality.
Speaking to The Telegraph, the real-life IC 814 pilot explained, 'I didn't personally repair the plumbing line. The Taliban authorities sent a worker, and I only guided him to the aircraft's plumbing lines since he didn't know their location.'
Another scene in the show depicts a salute from a senior actor playing the role of the Foreign Minister, Pankaj Kapoor, to the pilot at the end of the hijacking ordeal. Sharan clarified, 'In reality, (Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh) didn't salute me. He made a gesture that appreciated our efforts more than offering an actual salute.'
The Controversy Behind the Show
In 'IC 814', the terrorists who hijack the Indian Airlines flight use code names like Burger, Chief, Shankar, and Bhola, instead of their real names. This led to public outrage on social media, with accusations that the show is trying to conceal the real identities of the terrorists.
Amidst the controversy surrounding the web series, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, summoned the Head of Content at Netflix on Monday. According to official sources, the Ministry has summoned Netflix India's Head of Content for a meeting on Tuesday to provide clarifications on the alleged controversial aspects of 'IC 814'.
