A controversy has erupted over docuseries IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack directed by Anubhav Sinha. After many social media users slammed it for using aliases such as ‘Bhola’ and ‘Shankar’ for the terrorists involved, the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has summoned a Netflix content head on Monday.
However, a Union Home Ministry statement dated January 6, 2000, said that while the names of the hijackers were Ibrahim Athar, Shahid Akhtar Sayed, Sunny Ahmed Qazi, Mistri Zahoor Ibrahim and Shakir, they had indeed used aliases. “To the passengers of the hijacked place these hijackers came to be known respectively as (1) Chief, (2) Doctor, (3) Burger, (4) Bhola and (5) Shankar, the names by which the hijackers invariably addressed one another,” the Home Ministry statement read.
Earlier, BJP leader Amit Malviya had written on X, “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.” He had added, “Left's agenda to whitewash the crimes of Pakistani terrorists, all Muslims, served. This is the power of cinema, which the Communists have been using aggressively, since the 70s. Perhaps even earlier.”
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
IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack features Vijay Varma, Naseeruddin Shah, Pankaj Kapur, Manoj Pahwa, Kumud Mishra, Arvind Swamy, Dia Mirza, and Patralekhaa. It’s based on Flight Into Fear: The Captain's Story, a book co-authored by Devi Sharan, the captain of the hijacked flight, and journalist Srinjoy Chowdhury. Indian Airlines flight 814 was hijacked on December 24, 1999. With 191 passengers on board, the plane took off from Nepal's Kathmandu and was headed for Delhi. Five hijackers, who were posing as passengers, took control of the plane and made it land at Amritsar, Lahore and Dubai, before being taken to Kandahar in Afghanistan.
Headed by the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the government released three dreaded terrorists – Masood Azhar, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar to save the hostages.
