Vijay Varma, Anubhav Sinha Break Silence On IC814 The Kandahar Hijack Controversy: Everything Is...

IC814: The Kandahar Hijack, starring Vijay Varma, has sparked a major controversy for misrepresentation and distortion of facts. A section of the internet slammed the makers for changing the names of hijackers (affiliated with Islamic extremist groups) to "Shankar" and "Bhola". Owing to this, Netflix representatives were summoned by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry. However, things were resolved after the makers put the disclaimer regarding the identity of the hijackers.

Now, weeks later, director Anubhav Sinha and the star cast of the movie have reacted to the controversy.

I know what I have done: Anubhav Sinha

In a recent interview with Galatta Plus, Anubhav, Vijay and Dia Mirza spoke about the controversy, while others, including Manoj Pahwa, Kumud Mishra and Arvind Swamy nodded in agreement. The director said that he is aware of what he has done and there is "too much love for it". She added, "That’s enough to actually fill in my days.”

Dia added to the conversation and said, "I think what matters is the intention. I don’t think the intention of the show is to cause any disharmony. That’s the most important thing. And that’s our truth. The second thing is that I think everything that is being questioned is verifiable, and factual. How do you debate that?”

I saw a remarkable role played by the media in this: Vijay Varma

Vijay, who played the titular role of Captain Devi Sharan, also shared two cents regarding the controversy and said that he saw a "remarkable role played by media" throughout the controversy. He believes a lot of people were speaking positively about the show during controversy and this for him is the "biggest victory". Dia seconded his statement and added, "Because they can verify the information.”

Vijay continued that people are able to answer and explain to the "concerned parties" what exactly happened. "These were the names given and this was the part of the press release given by the Union Minister in January, 2000. Therefore, what we are doing right now is actually coming together and being with the show," he added.

Why internet rose in uproar post-release of IC814: The Kandahar Hijack?

The series referred to the code names used by terrorists -- 'Bhola', 'Shankar', 'Doctor', 'Burger' and 'Chief'. Their original names were Ibrahim Athar, Shahid Akhtar Sayed, Sunny, Ahmad Qazi, Zahoor Mistry and Shakir. This didn't go down well with most of the viewers and they called for a boycott on social media. A few days later, a PIL was also filed in the Delhi High Court seeking the ban on the series. However,  the petitioner withdrew the plea on grounds of Netflix issuing a disclaimer carrying the "names of the terrorists" in the series portraying the 1999 hijack of an Indian Airlines flight by Pakistan -based terror outfit Harkat-ul-Mujahideen.