IC 814 Series Row: Netflix Assures Centre It Will Be Sensitive To Indian Sentiments In Future

A day after it was reported that the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (I&B) has summoned Netflix VP, Content Monika Shergill over row on ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’ series, the OTT platform has reportedly assured the government of keeping its content in accordance with “nation’s sentiments” in the future.  

“Netflix has provided an assurance to conduct a content review and guarantee that all future content on their platform will be sensitive to and in accordance with the nation’s sentiments,” ANI reported, citing government sources.

This comes amid the hashtag #bannetflix trending on social media platform X for a few days now. Further, a report by MoneyControl also said that a public interest litigation has been filed in the Delhi High Court, seeking a ban on the series over allegations that it is hurting national sentiments. 

At the heart of the controversy is the series naming hijackers as Chief, Doctor, Burger, Bhola and Shankar. The naming of the last bugged people, who allege that the makers’ intentionally changed these Hindu names to hurt public sentiments. 

It was conveyed to Netflix representatives that they must keep religious sentiments and sensitivities of the public in mind, sources in the I&B Ministry told The Indian Express.

Later, Netflix issued a statement on the issue. “For the benefit of audiences unfamiliar with the 1999 hijacking of the 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. India has a rich culture of story-telling and we are committed to showcasing these stories and their authentic representation,” Shergill said in the statement.

Earlier, a number of public figures also appealed to the OTT platform to be mindful of such alleged misinterpretations. 

“Every man and woman in India and indeed in South Asia knows that the hijack of IC-814 from Kathmandu was committed by Pakistan’s ISI-backed terrorists. Now, nobody thinks that there were some people from India who did the hijacking. So how the people have Hindu names in that movie, I don’t know. But I’m very happy that the I&B Ministry and the GoI have taken cognisance of this and have summoned Netflix,” ex-Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said during an interview to ANI.

Pertinent to note that the real life incident involved the hijack and subsequent kidnapping of 154 passengers of Indian Airlines for eight days in 1999.  The hijack was carried out by five terrorists named:  Ibrahim Athar, Sunny Ahmed Qazi, Zahoor Ibrahim, Shahid Akhter, and Sayed Shakir.

However, the series’ casting director Mukesh Chhabra has maintained that the terrorists responsible for the crime used nicknames among themselves and that extensive research was carried out for the show.

Further, Netflix has categorically said that the series is fictional and is only inspired  from Commander of IC 814’s Captain Devi Sharan book titled ‘Flight into Fear – A Captain’s Story’. 

“This series is a work of fiction which is set against the backdrop of certain real life events. The characters, places, names and events in the series have been creatively conceptualised for the purpose of dramatisation,” the show’s opening credits read. 

Meanwhile, the OTT platform is no stranger to such controversies of riling up public emotions. In June, the same hashtag ‘#bannetflix was trending on X over Netflix’s movie ‘Maharaj’, which saw actor Jaideep Ahlawat portray the role of a ‘Godman’ in the 19th century who had seen criminal proceedings lodged against him for abusing women. At that time, the OTT platform saw calls for bans of the film as well as the platform over allegations of the movie portraying “Hindu saints in negative light”. 

Besides, Netflix has seen similar issues for its other creative works like The Sacred Games in the past. 

The mounting public backlash comes at a time when the platform is bracing itself to see a major OTT giant emerge. The OTT platform, which is set to spawn from the Reliance and Disney Hotstar partnership, will house more than 120 television channels and will reportedly garner a user base of more than 750 Mn.

Update | September 3, 05:30 PM: The article has been edited to add Netflix’s statement.