A still from the web series ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Pooja Kataria, a passenger on the IC-814 flight hijacked in 1999 says viewers should approach the recently released web series based on the incident as entertainment rather than sparking controversy.

Sharing her review of the Anubhav Sinha directorial limited series based on the real event released on Netflix, Ms. Kataria relived her experience with the hijackers.

Speaking to ANI, Ms. Kataria said, “We were returning from Nepal when the aeroplane got hijacked. There were 176 passengers on the flight. Just half an hour after the flight took off, it was hijacked.”

“There were 5 hijackers in the plane. We were all scared and didn’t have any idea about our whereabouts. We were given nothing to eat, except a small apple on a day,” Ms. Kataria recalled.

“I don’t know why people are making a controversy around the series. The series is based on a real event and the names of the hijackers used in the series are also factual,” Ms. Kataria said.

Further, she said, “One of the hijackers who was called Burger celebrated my birthday on the hijacked plane and also gifted me his shawl on that day. Another hijacker who identified himself as Doctor used to give speeches on Islam on the plane and seemed to be an intelligent individual.” Ms. Kataria shared a paper clipping from the incident and memorabilia from the hijack.

‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’ has triggered a row on social media over the names of the hijackers in the series. Netflix later updated its disclaimer with the real and code names of the hijackers.

“For the benefit of audiences unfamiliar with the 1999 hijacking of the Indian Airlines flight 814, the opening disclaimer has been updated to include the real and code names of the hijackers. The code names in the series reflect those used during the actual event. India has a rich culture of story-telling and we are committed to showcasing these stories and their authentic representation,” said Monika Shergill, vice-president of content, at Netflix India.

The updation of the disclaimer followed after Shergill met with Joint Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in Delhi on Tuesday (September 3, 2024). The meeting was held in view of certain contentious issues on the web series based on the IC-814 hijacking.

Additionally, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) had also been filed in the Delhi High Court by Surjit Singh Yadav, Chief of Hindu Sena, seeking a ban on the Netflix series. The PIL alleged that the series distorts the actual identities of the terrorists involved in the hijacking. The petition claimed that the miniseries erroneously assigns Hindu names such as “Bhola” and “Shankar” — names associated with Lord Shiva — to the real hijackers Ibrahim Akhtar, Shahid Akhtar Sayeed, Sunny Ahmed Qazi, Zahoor Mistry, and Shakir.

The Hijack drama is created by Anubhav Sinha and Trishant Shrivastava. It stars actors Naseeruddin Shah, Pankaj Kapur, Vijay Varma, Arvind Swamy, Patralekhaa and Dia Mirza.

The six-episode series is based on the events of December 24, 1999, when an Indian Airlines flight IC 814 en route to Delhi from Kathmandu was hijacked after takeoff from the Kathmandu Tribhuvan International Airport in Nepal shortly after it entered Indian airspace.