Fact Check: Did 'IC814-The Kandahar Hijack' makers intentionally use Hindu nicknames for hijackers?

Still from IC 814

Anubhav Sinha's recent directorial 'IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack' has landed in controversy over the onscreen names of hijackers. A section of netizens have accused that the hijackers of the 'IC 814' were 'given' Hindu nicknames on the show. Hijackers on board the plane from Kathmandu to Delhi were using nicknames to hide their real identity. But did the makers intentionally change the names of the hijackers and spread a false narrative? Here's the truth behind the nicknames of the hijackers.

As per the makers of 'IC814: The Kandahar Hijack', 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 two of the terrorists in the series as ‘Bhola' and ‘Shankar'.

Were hijackers really named Shankar and Bhola?

As it turns out, two of the hijackers were indeed referred to as Bhola and Shankar. The series is inspired by the book 'Flight Into Fear' written by Capt Devi Sharan who was in charge of the flight on that fateful day. The pilot ensured the safety of the passengers by following the instructions of the hijackers in high-pressure situations.

Some netizens have been irked by the use of the names and accused Sinha of spreading a false narrative and called it an attempt to defame Hinduism. However, fact-checkers have pointed out that as per the Ministry of External Affairs website, these were the actual code names used according to accounts shared by passengers.

Netflix content head summoned by Ministry

Amid massive outrage over the show, the content head of OTT platform Netflix has been summoned on September 3 by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The names of the hijackers has triggered a row on social media over the depiction of the hijackers.

In the OTT series, the five hijackers of the flight from Kathmandu are referred to as Chief, Doctor, Burger, Bhola and Shankar.

"I vividly remember IC-814. I was very aware of that accident and very involved in following that. 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-backed terrorists. Now, 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. But I'm very happy that the I&B Ministry and the GoI have taken cognizance of this and have summoned Netflix" BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar said.

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.