The statement from the OTT behemoth follows a controversy around its online series “IC 814 Kandahar Hijack.”
According to insiders, Netflix India has promised Center that going forward, content will reflect the “nation’s sentiments”. The statement from the OTT behemoth follows a controversy around its online series “IC 814 Kandahar Hijack.”
The series, which revisits the 1999 hijacking of an Indian Airlines flight by Pakistan-based terror outfit Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, has triggered a fierce backlash, culminating in an hour-long meeting between the streaming giant and the Centre.
The film, which was directed by Anubhav Sinha and premiered on August 29, depicts the hijackers of the tragic flight in a way that has angered many people, especially because it purports to have changed their names to “Bhola” and “Shankar,” which are customarily linked with Lord Shiva. Some claim that this portrayal distorts historical truths by misrepresenting the terrorists’ true identities and hurting Hindu sensibilities in the process.
‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’s’ release has also sparked a verbal sparring on social media. Chief of the BJP IT Cell Amit Malviya charged that by giving Pakistani terrorists Hindu names, the filmmakers were confusing future generations and advancing an agenda to whitewash their atrocities. Priyanka Chaturvedi, the leader of Shiv Sena and the UBT, and Omar Abdullah, the former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, criticized the uproar, calling attention to the inconsistent demands for historical authenticity in films.
Hashtags like #BoycottNetflix and #BoycottBollywood went viral on sites like X (previously Twitter), where users accused the filmmakers of fabricating events and downplaying the terror that the real hijackers caused.
But a document from the Union Home Ministry that was made public right after the 1999 hijacking has corrected the record.
IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack Controversy: The testimony unequivocally claims that within the aircraft, the hijackers—Sunny Ahmed Qazi, Shakir, also known as Rajesh Gopal Verma, Mistri Zahoor Ibrahim, Shahid Akhtar Sayed, and Ibrahim Athar—referred to one another by monikers such as Bhola, Shankar, Doctor, and Burger.
“To the passengers of the hijacked place these hijackers came to be known respectively as (1) Chief, (2) Doctor, (3) Burger, (4) Bhola and (5) Shankar, the names by which the hijackers invariably addressed one another,” the government statement reads.
Concurrently, Kangana Ranaut, a performer who transitioned into politics, has faced criticism for her next film “Emergency.” Ms. Ranaut portrays Indira Gandhi, a former prime minister, in the film. The narrative centers on the emergency that was proclaimed from 1975 to 1977, a period of 21 months.
A top Sikh religious authority, the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC), has expressed objections to the movie; as a result, the CBFC has decided to postpone its release while it investigates these concerns.
After a delay in certification, Ms Ranaut said it’s “hugely demotivating and unjust” that censorship is only for those like her who “make films on historical facts”.
Referring to ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’, Ms Ranaut said on X that “one can show unimaginable amount of violence and nudity on OTT platforms without any consequence or censorship, one can even distort real-life events to suit their politically motivated sinister motives”.