Anubhav Sinha receives flak for naming terrorists ‘Bhola’ and ‘Shankar’ in ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’

Anubhav Sinha, stills from ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’ Pic/AFP, X

Director and master filmmaker Anubhav Sinha, known for his gritty and realistic cinema made his web series debut with ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack' which is currently streaming on Netflix. As per the makers, the "six-episode series thrusts you into the nerve-wracking reality faced by passengers and crew trapped at 30,000 feet. With every moment steeped in tension, the series follows a relentless team in India racing against time, deciphering the hijackers' ominous demands, and fighting against the odds to ensure the safe return of everyone on board." However, Sinha has ruffled some feathers by naming the terrorists in the series as ‘Bhola' and ‘Shankar'. This has irked a section of netizens.

Why is Anubhav Sinha receiving flak for ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack'

Netizens who have pulled up Anubhav Sinha for the names of hijackers as ‘Bhola' and ‘Shankar' (after Lord Shiva) claim that the filmmaker is trying to defame Hinduism. However, fact-checkers have pointed out that as per the Ministry of External Affairs website, these were the code names used according to accounts shared by passengers.

About ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack'

IC-814 was hijacked by five terrorists on December 24, 1999, 40 minutes after it took off from Kathmandu. The aircraft carrying about 180 passengers remained hostage for seven days and flew from Kathmandu to Amritsar and then to Lahore. It was re-fuelled in Lahore and left for Dubai. From Dubai, it went to Taliban-controlled Kandahar, where all the passengers were released on December 31, 2000. It is adapted from the book "Flight Into Fear" by Captain Devi Sharan and Srinjoy Chowdhury.

Vijay Varma. Arvind Swami, Dia Mirza, Pooja Gor, Patralekhaa, Amrita Puri, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Anupam Tripathi, Kanwaljeet Singh, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Sushant Singh, Aditya Srivastava, Rajeev Thakur and Yashpal Sharma are a part of the show.

Vijay Varma speaks about Devi Sharan

To embody his character and the delicate nature of events that transpired inside the aircraft, he spent a lot of time with the real-life captain, Devi Sharan. Recalling a moment that became his biggest reward for working on the series, Vijay Varma tells mid-day, "We were in Delhi with the real-life captain. A lady showed up and said that she was in that flight. At that time, she was 24 or 25; now, she has two kids. She was deeply emotional when she expressed her gratitude to the captain, saying, ‘You saved our lives and both my kids are pilots today.' I thought that was something - to choose to make your kids into somebody, who was in such a difficult situation. The kids were beaming with happiness as they met the captain who saved their mother's life. I can never forget this."

'IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack' was released on Netflix on August 29.