Netflix India's Head Summoned Over Contentious IC-814 Hijack Series

Monika Shergill, head of Netflix India, meets with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting over controversies surrounding the portrayal of hijackers in the series 'IC-814: The Kandahar Hijack.' The government takes issue with the depiction of terrorists using Hindu names, leading to public outcry and legal actions.

Monika Shergill, head of OTT platform Netflix India, is meeting the Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting today at Shastri Bhawan to discuss contentious issues surrounding the web series 'IC-814: The Kandahar Hijack.' The government is concerned about the series' portrayal of hijackers using Hindu names, which it views as disrespectful to Indian culture and civilization.

Sources indicate that the Netflix team has come prepared with research documents and footage to argue that the series is based on publicly available resources, including books and government statements. The series has sparked a social media uproar over its depiction of the hijackers.

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Delhi High Court by Surjit Singh Yadav, Chief of Hindu Sena, seeking a ban on the series. The PIL alleges that the series distorts the identities of the terrorists, giving them names like 'Bhola' and 'Shankar,' which are associated with Hindu deity Lord Shiva. The real hijackers were identified as Ibrahim Akhtar, Shahid Akhtar Sayeed, Sunny Ahmed Qazi, Zahoor Mistry, and Shakir.

BJP leader Amit Malviya criticized the series, accusing filmmaker Anubhav Sinha of legitimizing the hijackers' criminal intent by giving them non-Muslim names. 'Decades later, people will think Hindus hijacked IC-814,' Malviya posted on X.

Another BJP leader, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, expressed satisfaction that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has taken up the issue. He emphasized that everyone knows the hijacking was carried out by Pakistan's ISI-backed terrorists and questioned why Hindu names were used in the series. 'I'm very happy that the I&B Ministry and the GoI have summoned Netflix,' Chandrasekhar said.

Created by Anubhav Sinha and Trishant Shrivastava, the six-episode series stars actors Naseeruddin Shah, Pankaj Kapur, Vijay Varma, Arvind Swamy, Patralekhaa, and Dia Mirza. It is based on the events of December 24, 1999, when an Indian Airlines flight IC 814 was hijacked after taking off from the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal.

(With inputs from agencies.)