Netflix names hijackers in ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’ following backlash

Netflix has updated the opening disclaimer for Indian series ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’ with names of the hijackers, after the show sparked controversy in the country, reported Deadline on Friday.

Released on August 29, ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’ tells the story of the longest hijacking in Indian aviation history. The series takes place in 1999, when a Kathmandu-Delhi passenger plane was hijacked by five attackers and made unplanned stops in Amritsar, India; Lahore, Pakistan and Dubai. The hijack lasted seven days.

The controversy revolved around the hijackers’ names in the Hindi-language, six-episode series. The hijackers are depicted calling each other common Hindu names like Shankar and Bhola. Some of the hijackers were also Muslim.

“For the benefit of audiences unfamiliar with the 1999 hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814, the opening disclaimer in India has been updated to include the real and code names of the hijackers. The code names in the series reflect those used during the actual event,” Netflix said in a statement in response to the controversy.

The names and code names used in the series reflect the real ones that the hijackers used among themselves during the actual incident, which have already been published and existed in the public domain for more than the last two decades.

However social media users and members of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) criticised the filmmakers for not making it known. It was reported that the federal government summoned Netflix India executives to discuss the issue.

The streamer also expanded on its existing disclaimer for the series in India, to include the names as well as code names of the terrorists from the hijacking.

Netflix added that there are no changes being made to the content of the series.