IC-814 series row: Netflix adds real names of hijackers

Under pressure from the government, Netflix India on Tuesday said it has included the real and code names of the hijackers of the Indian Airlines aircraft depicted in the web series IC814: The Kandahar Hijack.

The web series had triggered a row after a section of viewers objected to the humane projection of terrorists and reference to their Hindu code names, contending that distortion of real identities of hijackers amounted to misrepresentation of historical events.

Information and Broadcasting Secretary Sanjay Jaju summoned the Netflix India's contend head, Monika Shergill, to convey the government's strong disapproval of the depiction of certain elements in the web series.

"For the benefit of audiences unfamiliar with the 1999 hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814, the opening disclaimer has been updated to include the real and code names of the hijackers," Shergill, Vice President, Content at Netflix India, said in a statement after meeting Jaju.

She said the code names in the series reflect those used during the actual event.

The real names of the hijackers were Ibrahim Athar, Shahid Akhtar Sayed, Sunny, Ahmad Qazi, Zahoor Mistry and Shakir. However, the series referred to the code names used by terrorists -- Bhola, Shankar, Doctor, Burger and Chief.

"India has a rich culture of storytelling and we are committed to showcasing these stories and their authentic representation," Shergill said.

A senior government functionary said there was a need for the OTT platform to understand the impact certain things may have on society.

"The issue is that we should understand each other. What is your thinking, what is our thinking. There was a need to understand each other and the kind of impact certain things can have on society," the functionary said.

Directed by Anubhav Sinha and featuring a stellar cast of Vijay Varma, Patralekhaa, Pankaj Kapur, Naseeruddin Shah, Arvind Swamy, Dia Mirza, the web series chronicles the true story of the December 1999 hijack by Pakistan-based terror outfit Harkat-ul Mujahideen.

The series has courted controversy on social media and elsewhere with many claiming that the film-maker changed the names of the hijackers to 'Shankar' and 'Bhola' to allegedly protect the terrorists who belonged to a certain community.

Hashtags such as #BoycottNetflix, #BoycottBollywood and #IC814 trended on social media but many survivors and journalists have come out in support of the series saying that the hijackers did use the code names depicted in the show.

The 'aliases' used by the hijackers in the series have been in public domain, including the Union Home Ministry's official statement issued on January 6, 2000.

The government has taken a strong stand against the web series, with a senior representative contending that "nobody has the right to play with the sentiments of the people of this nation".

The representative said filmmakers have to think before portraying something in a wrong manner. "You may be liberal, but you cannot portray institutions in a wrong manner," the person said.

The depiction of terrorists also kicked off a political row with BJP criticising the film-makers, and opposition National Conference and Shiv Sena-UBT targeting the ruling party over the handling of the hijack situation in 1999 by the then NDA government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee.