Mumbai – There has been opposition on social media over the last few days against the web series ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’ released on the OTT platform Netflix, as the real names of Jihadi terrorists have been hidden and replaced with Hindu names like Bhola and Shankar. Taking note of the same, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has summoned the head of Netflix India. The Information & Broadcasting Ministry has demanded an explanation from the content head of Netflix India about the controversy over the IC-814: The Kandahar Hijack series in connection with the depiction of the hijackers.
.@netflix & @anubhavsinha making money out of misery! Everybody remembers seeing the tense faces of the relatives of those who were in IC 814. And now this web series seeks to trivialise this harrowing experience by whitewashing the crimes of the Jihadi terrorists.… pic.twitter.com/xz4A0KOgy5
— HinduJagrutiOrg (@HinduJagrutiOrg) September 2, 2024
बॉलिवूडवालों के लिए हिन्दू हमेशा से सॉफ्ट टारगेट रहे हैं। वेब सिरिज IC 814 में बडी चतुराई से हिन्दुओं को आतंकी दिखाने का प्रयास हुआ है। वास्तविकता में आतंकियों ने अपने नाम भोला और शंकर बताए तो थे। किंतु असल में वो जिहादी मुसलमान थे। फिल्म में केवल उनके हिन्दू नाम दिखाए गए है,… pic.twitter.com/NW87jDweOM
— HinduJagrutiOrg (@HinduJagrutiOrg) September 2, 2024
This web series was released on August 29. It is directed by Anubhav Sinha. On 24th December 1999, after taking off from Kathmandu, the Indian Airlines flight IC 814 was hijacked by Pakistani terrorists. The web series is based on this incident.
The names of the Jihadi terrorists who hijacked the plane were Ibrahim Athar (Bahawalpur), Shahid Akhtar (Karachi), Sunny Ahmed (Karachi), Zahoor Mistry (Karachi), and Shakir (Sukkur City); however, in the web series, they have been portrayed with Hindu names, such as ‘Bhola’ and ‘Shankar’, drawing criticism on social media. There have also been appeals to boycott the series. In response, one of the directors of the web series, Mukesh Chhabra, clarified that the terrorists used code names for each other, and proper research was conducted before making this web series.
IC 814 Terrorists names – Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, Masood Azhar and Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar.
In Movie – Shankar & Bhola!
As long as we have people like @anubhavsinha, even Osama bin Laden will also win the Nobel Peace Prize. #BoycottNetflix#BoycottBollywood pic.twitter.com/FNP2BV6zGo
— Rêãl_Çûlprît🇮🇳 (@Brahmin_boy420) September 1, 2024
The Netflix Indmayia content head have to appear in person before the Ministry to provide clarifications with respect to the series released on August 29. “No one has the right to play with the sentiments of the nation,” a senior official said, confirming that an explanation had been sought.
“Every man and woman in India and indeed in South Asia knows that the hijack of IC-814 from Kathmandu was committed by Pakistan’s ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence)-backed terrorists…nobody thinks that there were some people from India who did the hijacking. So, how the people have Hindu names in that movie, I don’t know…I am happy that the I&B Ministry and the Government of India have taken cognisance of this and summoned Netflix,” former Union Minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar told media persons on Monday.
Hours after the series was launched, it triggered a sharp reaction from a large number of social media users who accused the makers of concealing the real identities of the hijackers, and misrepresenting several details of what had actually transpired. Some social media users alleged that, although at some places the real footage had been used, the series’ narrative was riddled with many fictional details. A petition has also been filed in the Delhi High Court seeking a ban on the series.
The hijacking on which the series is based took place on December 24, 1999, when the then Indian Airlines flight IC-814 carrying 179 passengers and 11 crew members from Kathmandu to Delhi was taken over by five terrorists of the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen.
The airplane was taken to Kandahar in Afghanistan (then under Taliban rule) via Amritsar, Lahore and Dubai, where 27 passengers were let off, and the dead body of one passenger was handed over. The remaining captives were eventually released after the Indian government set free three dreaded terrorists — founder of the Jaish-e-Mohammed Masood Azhar, and Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar.
Source : The Hindu
