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Outrage over drama on hijacked Indian plane IC 814 prompts Netflix to add disclaimer

Outrage over drama on hijacked Indian plane IC 814 prompts Netflix to add disclaimer

The updated opening credits of IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack will now include the real names of all the hijackers, reflecting that they weren't Hindu.
04 Sep, 2024

Netflix said on Tuesday it will add new disclaimers to an Indian series about the 1999 hijacking of a plane after social media outrage and government anger over what they believed were Muslim hijackers being shown as Hindus.

The series called IC-814: The Kandahar Hijack, a fictionalised version of the 1999 hijacking of Indian Airlines flight 814 from Kathmandu, was released on Netflix last week. It was immediately criticised for what social media users said was an incorrect portrayal of the hijackers as Hindus with Hindu names when they were Muslims. The code names used in the show are reflective of the actual code names used by the hijackers.

Netflix officials were summoned to India’s information and broadcasting ministry on Tuesday, Indian media reported, and the streaming platform said soon after that it would update the disclaimer. There was no comment from the government.

“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,” Monika Shergill, vice president of content at Netflix India, said in a statement.

#BoycottNetflix was trending on X over the weekend, and several users as well as members of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) criticised the series, saying it showed the hijackers in a positive light and misled audiences into thinking they were Hindu.

Amit Malviya, who heads BJP’s social media unit, said the series “legitimised the criminal intent” of the hijackers and misled people into thinking that Hindus hijacked the plane.

India claims Pakistan and militant groups it says were based in Pakistan were responsible for the December 1999 hijack, which was resolved after New Delhi freed three militants, including Masood Azhar, the head of one such group.

The series, which comes nearly 25 years after the incident, stars actors Naseeruddin Shah, Vijay Varma and Pankaj Kapur, among others, and is based on the book Flight into Fear, written by the captain of the flight, Devi Sharan, and journalist Srinjoy Chowdhury.

Netflix, as well as other streamers such as Amazon’s Prime Video, have been at the receiving end of complaints over their content in the past, especially from Hindu groups, who say their content hurts the sentiments of the country’s majority religious population.

Comments

Jin Sep 04, 2024 03:04pm
Awwh they are sensitive to this? While their entire ethos is based on lies. Basically they are taking action because of names and not following the version of the movie propaganda Bollywood makes.
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ding dong Sep 04, 2024 03:11pm
netflix is wrong
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M.Saeed Sep 04, 2024 03:14pm
.....;that Hindutva and gravely hostile to it's 220 million Muslim population Government of India !
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SalTheReader Sep 04, 2024 04:56pm
So this offends the Moditvas and bhakts? While Bollywood churns out nothing but Islamophobic and anti-Pakistan content, as nauseam since time immemorial!!
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Jamil Soomro Sep 04, 2024 05:16pm
The great Sir Syed Ahmad Khan was so incredibly right when he spoke of the Nation of Pakistan during the British Rule.
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Dr. Salaria, Aamir Ahmad Sep 04, 2024 05:29pm
Tip of the iceberg.
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Subodh Maheshwari Sep 04, 2024 06:06pm
Netflix needs to be banned in India. Imagine, earning millions in India, and portraying Hindus in bad light. Enough is enough.
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DHARMENDRA Sep 04, 2024 06:26pm
Hijacked by Muslim terrorist. Netflix need to be banned in india.
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Count of Undergraduate Decision Accept Sep 04, 2024 08:33pm
Good job India
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GreenAura Sep 04, 2024 11:55pm
Erm, the call signs the hijackers used are accurate, as per multiple corroborative eye witness accounts. Why are hindutva drones ignoring eyewitness testimony of fellow hindus? Or perhaps you prefer a work of complete fiction that actually harms your own narrative? Typical self harm by saffronists.
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Talha Sep 05, 2024 07:05am
Aww... poor things... their sensitivities got hurty hurty...
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Huy Nguyen Sep 05, 2024 10:00am
Use the actual names of terrorists. Nothing wrong in this outrage. Pakistanis should understand the truth.
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Bhola Sep 05, 2024 10:04am
When Netflix is going to make a movie on Babri Masjid demolition and Hindus killing 2000 muslims in Gujrat?
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Ron Sep 05, 2024 10:33am
Amazing series to watch and loved it
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