’IC814’ web series content row: IB Ministry summons Netflix content head. All you need to know about the controversy

The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has summoned the Netflix Content Head tomorrow over the controversy surrounding the 'IC814' web series.

Written By Sudeshna Ghoshal
Updated2 Sep 2024, 01:42 PM IST
'IC814' web series content row: IB Ministry summons Netflix Content Head
’IC814’ web series content row: IB Ministry summons Netflix Content Head(YouTube)

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Monday summoned the content Head of OTT platform Netflix tomorrow, September 3, over the controversy surrounding the ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’ web series after the portrayal of hijackers in the series sparked outrage on social media.

The Broadcasting Ministry's summons comes after a section of social media users accused the makers of the web series of deliberately changing the names of the hijackers to ‘Bhola’ and ‘Shankar’.

‘IC 814’ is a web series based on real events, the 1999 hijacking of an Indian Airlines flight by Pakistan-based terror outfit Harkat-ul-Mujahideen.

Also Read | Netflix is trying to get you hooked on more reality TV with better dubbing

Directed by Anubhav Sinha, the series was inspired by the book Flight Into Fear: The Captain's Story, authored by Devi Sharan, the captain of the flight and journalist Srinjoy Chowdhury.

IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack

The web series is based on the hijacking of Indian Airlines flight 814 on December 24, 1999. The flight, carrying 191 passengers, took off from Kathmandu, Nepal, en route to Delhi. Shortly after takeoff, five hijackers, disguised as passengers, seized control of the aircraft. The plane subsequently made multiple stops in Amritsar, Lahore, and Dubai before being diverted to Kandahar, Afghanistan.

During the 1999 hijacking, then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was compelled to release three notorious terrorists—Masood Azhar, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, and Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar—from Indian prisons to secure the hostages' release. Reports indicate that the Taliban assisted the hijackers and the freed terrorists in reaching Pakistan.

Also Read | IC 814 Row | Govt summons Netflix content head over Kandahar Hijack show: Report

A statement from the Union Home Ministry dated January 6, 2000, identified the hijackers as Ibrahim Athar, Shahid Akhtar Sayed, Sunny Ahmed Qazi, Mistri Zahoor Ibrahim, and Shakir.

What is the controversy about? 

BJP IT Cell chief Amit Malviya criticised the depiction, stating that the hijackers were notorious terrorists who used aliases to conceal their Muslim identities.

“Filmmaker Anubhav Sinha has legitimised their criminal intent by highlighting their non-Muslim names. In the future, people might believe that Hindus were behind the IC-814 hijacking [sic],” Malviya posted on X. 

Also Read | Win-win: YouTubers, standup comics graduate to Amazon, Netflix with top billing

Malviya accused the Left of attempting to whitewash the actions of Pakistani terrorists and suggested that cinema, used aggressively by Communists since the 1970s, is being leveraged to shift blame and undermine India's security, as reported by ANI.

Reacting to the post, Kangana Ranaut on Monday said there is freedom for communists or leftists for anti-national expressions, but OTT platforms do not let nationalist express their views.

She shared on X, “Law of the land is 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, there is all the freedom for communists or leftists across the world for such anti-national expressions but as a nationalist no OTT platform allows us to make films that revolve around the integrity and unity of Bharat, it seems censorship is only for some of us who don’t want tukde of this nation and make films on historic facts. It’s hugely demotivating and unjust [sic].”

Catch all the Business News , Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.

MoreLess
First Published:2 Sep 2024, 01:42 PM IST
Business NewsNewsIndia’IC814’ web series content row: IB Ministry summons Netflix content head. All you need to know about the controversy

Get Instant Loan up to ₹10 Lakh!

  • Employment Type

    Most Active Stocks

    Axis Bank share price

    1,181.30
    03:29 PM | 4 OCT 2024
    5.85 (0.5%)

    Tata Steel share price

    166.75
    03:56 PM | 4 OCT 2024
    -0.2 (-0.12%)

    Oil & Natural Gas Corporation share price

    295.20
    03:58 PM | 4 OCT 2024
    3.1 (1.06%)

    Tata Motors share price

    930.70
    03:56 PM | 4 OCT 2024
    4.7 (0.51%)
    More Active Stocks

    Market Snapshot

    • Top Gainers
    • Top Losers
    • 52 Week High

    Mahindra & Mahindra Financial share price

    301.65
    03:29 PM | 4 OCT 2024
    -20.5 (-6.36%)

    Kfin Technologies share price

    1,015.00
    03:29 PM | 4 OCT 2024
    -63.85 (-5.92%)

    Godrej Properties share price

    2,897.70
    03:57 PM | 4 OCT 2024
    -170.55 (-5.56%)

    Adani Energy Solutions share price

    963.45
    03:58 PM | 4 OCT 2024
    -52.75 (-5.19%)
    More from Top Losers

    VIP Industries share price

    563.85
    03:57 PM | 4 OCT 2024
    40.8 (7.8%)

    Oil India share price

    572.25
    03:59 PM | 4 OCT 2024
    33.4 (6.2%)

    JK Paper share price

    489.95
    03:43 PM | 4 OCT 2024
    27.1 (5.86%)

    Home First Finance Company India share price

    1,245.35
    03:40 PM | 4 OCT 2024
    63.15 (5.34%)
    More from Top Gainers

    Recommended For You

      More Recommendations

      Gold Prices

      • 24K
      • 22K
      Bangalore
      77,575.000.00
      Chennai
      77,581.000.00
      Delhi
      77,733.000.00
      Kolkata
      77,585.000.00

      Fuel Price

      • Petrol
      • Diesel
      Bangalore
      102.86/L0.00
      Chennai
      100.85/L-0.03
      Kolkata
      104.95/L0.00
      New Delhi
      94.72/L0.00

      Popular in News

        HomeMarketsPremiumInstant LoanMint Shorts