September 2, 2024: A section of social media users is calling for a boycott of the Netflix series IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack. They accuse the series of concealing the true identities of the terrorists involved in the 1999 incident. In response, casting director Mukesh Chhabra claims that the terrorists used pseudonyms to address each other, and that the series was made with careful consideration of all perspectives. Directed by Anubhav Sinha, the series is based on the December 24, 1999, hijacking of an Air India flight from Kathmandu by five terrorists. On social media platform X, hashtags #BoycottNetflix, #BoycottBollywood, and #IC814 are being used to urge viewers not to watch the series. The boycott supporters allege that the series creators have changed the names of the hijackers to Shankar and Bhola to protect the terrorists’ real identities. They claim that the director has distorted the facts of the incident. One social media user wrote, “The terrorists involved in IC 814 were Ahmad Umar Saeed Sheikh, Masood Azhar, and Mushtaq Ahmad Zargar, but their names have been changed to Shankar and Bhola.” It is notable that 154 passengers and crew were held hostage for eight days until the standoff ended with the release of Masood Azhar, Umar Sheikh, and Mushtaq Ahmad Zargar, who were flown to Kandahar by India’s then Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh.
