Captain Devi Sharan, the pilot of the IC 814 flight hijacked in December 1999, has pointed out inaccuracies in the popular series IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack. The series, which dramatizes the events of the high-profile hijacking, has faced criticism for alleged factual distortions and accusations of altering terrorist names and “whitewashing” the ordeal.
In a recent interview, Sharan highlighted two key discrepancies between the series and the real-life events. The show depicts the pilot, portrayed by Vijay Varma, as personally unclogging the plane’s plumbing lines and receiving a salute from the foreign minister after the siege ended. Sharan clarified, “I did not fix the plumbing lines myself. The Taliban authorities sent a worker for that task. I merely guided him to the aircraft hold as he was unfamiliar with the location of the lines.”
Regarding the scene with the foreign minister, Sharan added, “(Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh) made a gesture that showed appreciation for our efforts,” correcting the portrayal of the interaction in the series.
For context, IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack recounts the harrowing 1999 hijacking of an India-bound flight from Kathmandu to New Delhi. The aircraft was seized, and passengers and crew were held hostage for seven days. The hijackers demanded the release of three high-profile militants: Maulana Masood Azhar, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, and Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar. The stand-off concluded with the militants being released in exchange for the hostages, resulting in one fatality.
The series has attracted significant backlash, with accusations that it altered the names of the hijackers. This controversy led to a Netflix representative being summoned to New Delhi on September 2 to address the growing demands for a boycott and clarify the series’ portrayal of historical events.