'IC 814' Web Series Row: Centre Summons Netflix Content Head (image:x.com/Zaira_Nizaam)

The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has summoned Netflix India’s content head on Tuesday over the controversy surmounting the IC 814 web series content, ANI reports citing sources.

IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack is a web series on the 1999 hijacking of an Indian Airlines flight by Pakistan-based terror outfit Harkat-ul-Mujahideen. Helmed by Anunbhav Sinha, the web series is inspired from the book Flight Into Fear: The Captain’s Story, written by Devi Sharan, the captain of the flight and journalist Srinjoy Chowdhury.

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The series has created social media uproar against the makers of the OTT series for intentionally changing the names of the hijackers. By changing the name of terrorists to Hindu names – ‘Shankar’ and ‘Bhola’, the show is attempting to protect the hijackers belonged to a particular community, the social media users alleges. The hashtags #BoycottNetflix, #BoycottBollywood and #IC814 is receiving traction on X.

As per the reports, content chief Monika Shergill has to provide explanation on the allegedly controversial aspects of the web series.

The names of the hijackers were Ibrahim Athar, Shahid Akhtar Sayed, Sunny Ahmed Qazi, Mistri Zahoor Ibrahim and Shakir, Union Home Ministry statement dated on January 6, 2000 read.

“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 said.

Following then Home Ministry’s statement, the hijackers in the series are also identified with the codenames Chief, Doctor, Burger, Bhola, and Shankar.

Attacking the makers of the series, BJP IT Cell chief Amit Malviya wrote 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.”

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

Meanwhile, amid the row, several journalists who covered hijacking incident have put out social media posts saying that passengers had told them that the hijackers used these names to address each other, NDTV reports.

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The week-long hijacking in December 1999 brought the nation to a standstill. The terrorists hijacked the plane after it took off from Kathmandu in Nepal, after which it landed in Amritsar, and then in Lahore.

The series features Vijay Varma, Naseeruddin Shah, Pankaj Kapur, Patrelekhaa, Dia Mirza, and Arvind Swamy in significant roles and was released on August 29 on Netflix.