‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’: A Tense, Accurate, Non-judgmental Account of Longest Hijacking in Indian Aviation History
- The series, with an ensemble cast, stellar performances, gripping narrative, and realistic cinematography, vividly brought back to life the events of December 1999.
I binge-watched “IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack,” a Hindi crime thriller drama series on Netflix. Directed by Anubhav Sinha in his debut drama series, it is a well-made adaptation that stays true to the original 1999 hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814. The series is derived from the book “Flight Into Fear” by Devi Sharan, the pilot on the hijacked flight, and Srinjoy Chowdhury. “IC 814” is directed by Anubhav Sinha and written by Adrian Levy and Trishant Srivastava, with production by Sarita Patil and Sanjay Routray under Matchbox Shots and Benaras Mediaworks.
The series features a stellar ensemble cast, including Naseeruddin Shah, Pankaj Kapur, Vijay Varma, Dia Mirza, and Arvind Swamy. The narrative is gripping, the performances commendable, and the cinematography realistic. The events of 1999 were vividly brought back to life for me as I remembered being in Decatur, Alabama, with my family visiting from Mumbai. We were glued to the phone since the U.S. news did not give much coverage to what became the longest hijacking of an Indian Airlines plane in history.
Watching the series, I was amazed at how easily the hijackers, known terrorists, were able to board the plane. Why weren’t they screened? They were ruthless toward the pilot, co-pilot, stewardesses, and passengers, yet the crew maintained their professionalism and humanity, treating their passengers with respect and dignity. There were 188 passengers on board — newly married couples, families, business travelers, kids, the elderly, and the handicapped. While the Indian crew sympathized with the passengers, the hijackers were completely apathetic.
The hijackers initially wanted to take the plane to Kandahar, but they didn’t realize there wasn’t enough fuel. The captain suggested diverting to Lahore, but Lahore denied landing permission, forcing the flight to Amritsar. After refueling there, the hijackers narrowly avoided being stopped by the Punjab commandos, who were ready to abort the hijack.
The flight was then forced to Dubai, where the hijackers refueled and agreed to offload two brutally stabbed passengers, along with women and children. They then continued to Afghanistan, where the hijacked plane and its unfortunate passengers remained trapped on board with clogged toilets, while the hijackers negotiated a deal with the Indian government amid a highly armed Islamic Al-Qaeda and Bin Laden territory (Referred to as “ek hi thaili ke chatte-batte” by veteran actor Manoj Pahwa in simplistic terms).
Pahwa as Mukul Mohan, Additional Director of the Intelligence Bureau (IB), and Kumud Mishra as Ranjan Mishra, Joint Secretary of RAW, were the main negotiators. Watching how they maintained a balance of hardball and soft diplomacy with the hijackers was gut-wrenching. Aditya Srivastava as V. K. Agarwal, head of RAW, and Vijay Varma as Captain Sharan Dev, head pilot of IC 814, delivered strong performances.
The inclusion of archived footage of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, remaining calm under duress, brought a flood of national sentiment.
The terrorists, portrayed by Harminder Singh as Shahid Akhtar Sayeed alias “Doctor”; Kunal Chopra as Zahoor Mistry alias “Bhola,”; and Kamal Batra as Sakir alias “Shankar,” demanded the release of several ruthless terrorists imprisoned in India and a ransom of $200 million.
Naseeruddin Shah flawlessly rendered the role of Cabinet Secretary Vinay Kaul, who is afraid of making a wrong move, while Pankaj Kapur convincingly portrayed Vijaybhan Singh, Minister of External Affairs (based on Jaswant Singh), who ultimately made the difficult decision to surrender three major terrorists to the hijackers — who later wreaked further havoc — to rescue the hostages.
Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil, the first foreign minister of the Taliban Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, played a crucial role in the negotiations. Dia Mirza portrayed Shalini “Sha” Chandra, editor of India Headlines, who struggled with the ethical dilemma of what to publish and what to hold back. The captain, portrayed by Vijay Varma, was under the most pressure, with the media adding their spin and the families of the passengers, especially the captain’s wife and kids, were left anxiously awaiting news.
“IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack” is an intense, accurate, and non-judgmental account of the longest hijacking in Indian aviation history. It does a great job in capturing the human angle and the courage of the captain under pressure. The realistic cinematography and depiction of the Indian government’s stance in conducting difficult negotiations on foreign soil are bound to nurture the Indian sentiment.
The winter of 1999 may have been the worst Christmas for Indians, but the successful return of the hostages back home probably made 2000 one of the happiest New Years for the Indian diaspora! We were all worried about Y2K back then, now when terrorism and hacking are on the rise, and more people are flying let’s not take security in aviation lightly.
With one foot in Huntsville, Alabama, the other in her birth home India, and a heart steeped in humanity, writing is a contemplative practice for Monita Soni. She has published hundreds of poems, movie reviews, book critiques, and essays and contributed to combined literary works. Her two books are My Light Reflections and Flow through My Heart. You can hear her commentaries on Sundial Writers Corner WLRH 89.3FM.