Vijay Varma's IC 814 Draws Backlash for Changing Hijackers’ Names and Backgrounds

The recently released mini-series IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack has sparked controversy due to allegations of misleading portrayal of the hijackers from the 1999 Indian Airlines Flight 814 crisis. Directed by Anubhav Sinha, the series is criticised for changing the hijackers' names and religious backgrounds.

Mumbai:The recently released crime thriller drama television mini-series IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack has caused an uproar on the Internet owing to its narrative and concealing of facts. The series, directed by Anubhav Sinha, is based on the hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814. Six terrorists -- Ibrahim Athar, Shahid Akhtar Sayed, Sunny, Ahmad Qazi, Zahoor Mistry, and Shakir of the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen terrorist outfit, held the flight hostage over their demands of the release of Pakistani terrorists held in prison in India -- Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, Masood Azhar and Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar.

However, the streaming series is getting slammed on social media over the alleged whitewashing of the Pakistani intelligence agency, ISI, for humanising the cruel terrorists and over its misleading content. Several users also alleged that the religion of the hijackers was deliberately changed by the makers. One Internet user wrote on X, "Names of IC814 Hijackers changed to Shankar & Bhola by @anubhavsinha This is how Bollywood let the TERRORISTS WIN"

Another wrote, "Bollywood has often misrepresented the Hindus of the country, portraying them negatively. In a web series, the Terrorists of IC 814, who were Muslims, have been given Hindu names like Bhola and Shankar." However, as per the Ministry of External Affairs report dated January 2000, Chief, Doctor, Burger, Bhola, and Shankar, were the names by which the hijackers invariably addressed one another.

Journalist-writer-lyricist Neelesh Misra, who wrote the book 173 Hours in Captivity: The Hijacking of IC814, also took to his X to clarify his stance, ""My book contains the real names of terrorists, their photographs, their cities, their code names, everything. This web series is not based on my book. Neither have I seen this series nor am I a part of it in any way. If the real names of Pakistani terrorists are not mentioned in the series, then this is something which I cannot even imagine. I can only state the fact that yes, Pakistani terrorists used Hindu code names during hijacking."

The hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814 and the subsequent hostage crisis lasted for seven days and ended after India agreed to release the three terrorists, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, Masood Azhar, and Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar.

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