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IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack - The story so far!

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Sakshi Sharma
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IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack

IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack has been making the rounds on news channels for quite a while now given that it's accused of being "anti-Indian" and "factually incorrect". But it's also a series that people can't stop raving about! 

Any piece of fictional content that is based on history or is borrowed from a real-life incident receives some backlash or is roped in some controversy or the other, as is the case with Netflix's series, IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack. Helmed by Anubhav Sinha, currently, the show has been accused of "whitewashing terrorism" and spreading "misinformation" of facts. And while it is being accused of wrongful depiction of facts, there's no denying that the show is gaining a lot of praise for how it was crafted and also for its cast.

Also Read: IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack review: A refreshing fictional account of history that breaks free from jingoistic tropes

The issue primarily concerns the aliases of two terrorists, namely Bhola and Shankar, which hurts Hindu sentiments. According to the official statement from the Union Home Minister on the real life IC-814 hijacking incident available on the Ministry of External Affairs website, dated January 6, 2000, it was noted that the real names of the terrorists were Ibrahim Athar, Shahid Akhtar Sayed, Sunny Ahmed Qazi, Mistri Zahoor Ibrahim and Shakir. But during the hijacking, these terrorists called each other only by code names, two of which were Bhola and Shankar, and the others were Chief, Doctor, and Burger, as the show depicts. 

As the row over the terrorists' code and real names gathered steam with #BoycottNetflix, alleging that 'IC 814' attempts to disparage the Hindu community and disrespect the Hindu sentiments by representing those terrorists as Hindus, the government summoned senior Netflix executive Monika Shergill and asked not to hurt the sentiment of common folks, stating that "Nobody has the right to play with people's sentiments". Netflix later updated the opening disclaimer to include real and code names. But this is not all that has captured the attention of the audiences! Many people have called it 'Anti-Indian' as they believe that the show sides with the terrorists and empathizes with them by showing their caring side while reducing the torture and pain that passengers felt for seven days. Some of the diplomatic facts have also been called "factually incorrect".

Despite all of this, IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack is garnering a lot of love from the audience for its stellar cast, which includes Naseeruddin Shah, Pankaj Kapur, Vijay Varma, Patralekhaa, Kumud Mishra, Aditya Srivastava, Aravind Swamy, Dia Mirza, Amrita Puri, Manoj Pahwa, Kanwaljeet Singh, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Yashpal Sharma, amongst others. Their exceptional and brilliant performance is being applauded, and the show is also a crisp, inventive, informative, and engaging watch. 

Here's what the makers and some of the cast had to say about the series and their characters at a recent event during an insightful discussion on the widespread appreciation the series has garnered from both audiences and critics!

Creator-director Anubhav Sinha has been credited for bringing this talent battalion together. He said,  "Being in that room with those nine or ten fantastic actors felt so organic, I felt like a child surrounded by flies. Every day had its targets, but this series has by far been the best in my 31 years of direction. The casting just fell right into its place. I have a few names I always try to cast, and Vijay was the first to be cast for IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack. I'm glad everyone got their due and enough screentime." 

Dia Mirza spoke about the importance of authenticity in her role, emphasising, “I think what mattered the most to me was Shalini’s integrity. I think it's a dilemma that many of my journalist friends are dealing with even today. I was very intrigued about what the time would have looked like for a woman in the press. As an artist, it's wonderful to play empowered women. I am grateful to Anubhav Sinha for always writing such strong women characters.” Similarly, Vijay Varma shared how he approached his role. "Stories come to you at a certain point in your life when you're ready for them, or sometimes, they get you ready for something. It's a bit philosophical, but it resonates with me. I met Captain Devi Sharan, understood his nature and persona, and just tried to capture that on screen. Naseer sir always advises me to use my imagination, and that really came in handy. I was deeply happy when Captain Sharan called and gave me a pat on the back. Mrs. Sharan also told me, 'I know this man more than he knows himself, and you've come very close.' It made me realize that there was a responsibility I might not have fully understood while doing it, but hearing that made me feel like, perhaps, I did it right." 

Reflecting on the challenges faced while portraying her character, Patralekhaa shared, “The character is intense and it did take a toll on my health. There’s a crucial moment in the series where they have to clean the toilet, and Anubhav sir somehow managed to recreate that smell—it took time to get it out. The story is intense; you don’t go through such emotions daily. But I enjoyed being in that space to really feel the character. I feel the space constraint really helped me." Manoj Pahwa expresses his gratitude for receiving so much love. "I tried to play my character as authentically as possible, I didn’t expect that the audience would love my character so much, especially the negotiation scenes. I just went with the flow."  Adding to this and sharing his working experience with Manoj, Kumud Mishra, said, "We had a lot of fun on set, especially Manoj ji and me. There were always two stories in the room—one between the both of us and one with the cast." 

With its gripping narrative, the series has struck a chord with viewers and earned universal praise even amidst all the controversies! 

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