The Indian government summoned Netflix’s content head to Delhi following significant online backlash regarding the streaming platform’s series IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has instructed Netflix’s content head to appear before them on Tuesday, September 2.
Netflix Content Head has been summoned tomorrow by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting over the ‘IC814’ web series content row: Sources
— ANI (@ANI) September 2, 2024
The series, which dramatizes the notorious 1999 hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814, has generated controversy on social media for allegedly changing the names of two hijackers to Hindu names.
Stupid Sanghis are pointing out at the facts shown in the Netflix series IC814. Little do they know, is it was the actual NICKNAMES used by the hijackers. Its not in any way factually wrong. They just presented the real facts. DO NOT BOYCOTT, ITS A GREAT SERIES! pic.twitter.com/DVCHudZRtU
— Yogi Adityapaad (@TheCriticIndian) August 31, 2024
IC 814 depicts the harrowing journey of hundreds of passengers as the flight was redirected to various locations before finally landing in Taliban-controlled Kandahar, Afghanistan.
In the show, the hijackers are referred to by codenames such as Chief, Doctor, Burger, Bhola, and Shankar. The use of the names Bhola and Shankar has been criticized, with some accusing the filmmakers of deliberately assigning Hindu names to misrepresent the hijackers and potentially stir up religious tensions.
This controversy has sparked a heated debate online, with critics targeting the series’ director, Anubhav Sinha, for allegedly altering historical facts.
The series is adapted from the book *Flight into Fear: The Captain’s Story*, authored by journalist Srinjoy Chowdhury and Devi Sharan, the captain of the hijacked flight.
Featuring actors like Vijay Varma, Naseeruddin Shah, Pankaj Kapur, Manoj Pahwa, Arvind Swami, Anupam Tripathi, Dia Mirza, Patralekhaa, Amrita Puri, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, and Kumud Mishra, IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack is under intense scrutiny as audiences and critics debate its depiction of one of India’s most alarming aviation crises.
