The recent news of Netflix Content IC814 summoned by I&B Ministry for portraying the 1999 hijacking of Indian Airlines flight IC814 adds to the controversial events in India. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has called Netflix India’s content head to explain the controversial series. The popular series is titled “IC-814 — The Kandahar Hijack” covers the dramatic hijacking that led to the release of three notorious prisoners in exchange for hostages.
Commercials Netflix Content IC814 Following several complaints from viewers and political figures, the I&B Ministry summoned it. According to them, the series presents the hijackers in a ‘humane’ manner. The series also receives criticism for changing hijackers’ names to “Bhola” and “Shankar.” whereas the hijacking was carried out by Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, Masood Azhar and Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar. The show is considered misleading because it camouflages the identities of culprits.
Netflix Content IC814 summoned by I&B Ministry, government terms it as an attempt to mislead future generations
BJP IT Cell chief Amit Malviya also expresses apprehension that the series might mislead future generations into believing Hindus were responsible for the hijacking. He terms the series as an attempt at whitewashing their complicity. Then the controversy snowballed as former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah termed the criticism double standards, drawing in films such as “Kashmir Files.”
It is a series based on the book ‘Flight Into Fear: The Captain’s Story’. The hijacked flight’s captain, Devi Sharan, co-authored it along with journalist Srinjoy Chowdhury. Netflix’s Content IC814 summoned by I&B Ministry after a social media backlash accused the series of altering the narrative for a specific agenda. Whatever the intention, critics feel that such a docudrama series may lead viewers astray. According to them, it can also demoralize India’s security apparatus by shifting the blame from the real culprits.
It has raised concern over the projection of sensitive events with high historical and security ramifications.
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