Netflix’s IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack: What director Anubhav Sinha & Monika Shergill had to say before and after the release of the show?

On August 29, Netflix released the six-episode series titled IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack, which has been directed by Anubhav Sinha and stars Vijay Varma, Naseeruddin Shah, Pankaj Kapur, Manoj Pahwa, Arvind Swami, Anupam Tripathi, Dia Mirza. Here is what director Anubhav Sinha and Netflix content head, Monika Shergill said before and after the release of the show.

Netflix’s Monika Shergill & Anubhav Sinha before the release of  _IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack_

Monika Shergill, Netflix content head said before the release of  _Netflix’s IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack_ , “The experience that you want to go through as a journey that’s what we wanted to capture in the series. I am so glad the way Anubhav approached it. The kind of people that he collaborated with and the cast that he brought.”

In fact, director Vishal Bharadwaj wanted to make a film on this and it didn’t work out. Anubhav Sinha said, “After I took on this, I got to know that Vishal wanted to do a film on this and he is a friend and we meet often. I told him the lens I was using and he liked it.”

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Vishal Bharadwaj’s film on the Kandahar hijack  was rejected. Monika Shergill said, “In early September of 2019 we took the book and met Captain Devi Sharan and we had a passion to do the story and tell this in the most defining way.”

The series format is not new to Anubhav Sinha . Twenty-seven years back he did a series called Sea Hawks which was a huge hit on DD. “The show doesn’t have any hierarchy. Only the captain being the captain is the main character,” said Anubhav Sinha.

Talking about the human aspect of the show Sinha further added, “You will be surprised that the hijackers were not those professional hijackers. After the completion of the hijack, they hugged the passengers and even exchanged phone numbers. One of the hijackers who hurt the captain, also hugged and said sorry at the end. At the end they played Antakshari too. This has been verified by the passengers.” Monika added to this by saying that it was the classic ‘Stockholm syndrome’.

Anubhav Sinha after the release of Netflix’s IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack

But after the release of the show and with all the controversies surrounding it, Anubhav Sinha first refused to answer when a reporter at a press conference asked him about the alleged distortion of facts in the web series. Even as the host kept trying to interject the director was constantly asked to address this. Anubhav responded, “Aapne series dekha hain? Series dekhiye. Baat nahi kar sakta aapse, aapne series nahi dekhi. (Did you watch the series? Watch it first. I can’t talk to you because you haven’t watched it).” The reporter refused to answer to his question as to whether he has watched the show or not and kept on ignoring to an extent that it became obvious that he didn’t watch. Since he didn’t watch the series,  Anubhav Sinha refused to answer to his question.

Monika Shergill, Vice President, Content, Netflix India’s statement

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. The code names in the series reflect those used during the actual event.”

She added, “India has a rich culture of storytelling — and we are committed to showcasing these stories and their authentic representation."

WATCH the trailer of Netflix ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’ here: