It’s not uncommon for real-life tragedies to be adapted for the screen without facing opposition. Anubhav Sinha’s IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack on Netflix faced a different scenario, where the filmmaker was criticized and slammed by many in India. Some believed that he was deliberately portraying the Hindu community in a negative light, which was clearly untrue. When the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry summoned Netflix India's Head, the situation was clarified, and the show remained intact. However, the controversy did bring a lot of negative attention to the series, including calls for a ban. After the central authorities reviewed the show, they ordered the makers to add a disclaimer as a precautionary measure. Looking back, Anubhav Sinha has called the e pisode "gobar" (cow dung).

Anubhav Sinha Reacts to IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack Controversy

IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack tells the story of the 1999 hijacking that shook the nation. Five terrorists hijacked the Kathmandu-to-Delhi flight, holding over 180 passengers hostage. In the show, the hijackers give themselves code names to use in front of the passengers. Two of the five terrorists use the names Shankar and Bhola, which did not sit well with a segment of the audience who demanded a ban on Netflix and the show. However, the show was factually accurate, as the terrorists actually used those names during the hijacking.

In an interview with casting director Mukesh Chhabra, Anubhav Sinha discussed the backlash but also mentioned the overwhelming love and support he received. When asked about the polarizing reception, Sinha said, "It’s confusing. On one side, there is a lot of love, and on the other, there is crap (gobar)."

When Mukesh asked Sinha if he felt responsible for the controversy, Sinha responded, "No, I don’t take myself that seriously. I just want to do my job with absolute sincerity and hard work. I wouldn’t have taken this on if I hadn’t fallen in love with the story. I loved it, that’s why I did it. All that remains is hard work, and the rest is up to the universe. The universe is both destructive and constructive..."

Did Anubhav Sinha Really Distort the Facts?

No, Anubhav Sinha did not distort any facts or inject his personal ideology. The terrorists involved in the hijacking did indeed use the names Shankar and Bhola. The hijackers were identified as Ibrahim Athar, Shahid Akhtar Sayed, Sunny Ahmed Qazi, Mistri Zahoor Ibrahim, and Shakir. To conceal their real identities from the passengers, they used code names. According to a statement made by the then Union Home Minister on January 6, 2000, the hijackers used the code names Chief, Doctor, Burger, Shankar, and Bhola.

The statement reads (via The Quint), "To the passengers of the hijacked plane, these hijackers came to be known respectively as [including] Shankar, the names by which the hijackers invariably addressed one another."

IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack is now streaming on Netflix. Stay tuned to OTTplay for more updates on this and everything else from the world of streaming and films.

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