Streaming platform Netflix has updated the opening credits of IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack amid controversy over the portrayal of terrorists in the web series.
The updated credits now include the real names of all hijackers, including two terrorists whose Hindu codenames drew fierce criticism.
In a statement on Tuesday, Ms Monika Shergill, vice-president (content), Netflix, said: “For the benefit of audiences unfamiliar with the 1999 hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814, the opening disclaimer has been updated to include the real and code names of the hijackers. The code names reflect those used during the actual event.”
Apart from the disclaimer, the series carries no other further edits, Ms Shergill said.
She added that the platform is fully dedicated to representing the authenticity in their stories: “India has a rich culture of storytelling, and we are committed to showcasing these stories and their authentic representation.”
The statement came hours after her meeting with officials from India’s Information and Broadcasting Ministry, during which she explained Netflix’s stance on the whole issue.
A massive row had erupted over the Netflix mini-series, which tells the story of the hijack of Indian Airlines flight IC-814 by Pakistan-based terror outfit Harkat-ul-Mujahideen in 1999. Five hijackers took control of the plane and diverted it to Afghanistan, which was then ruled by the Taliban.
The Indian government, then led by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, released three terrorists – Masood Azhar, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and Mushtaq Zargar – to secure the release of 154 hostages.
After the series was released, hundreds of social media users accused the creators – Anubhav Sinha and Trishant Srivastava – of changing the names of two hijackers to Bhola and Shankar.
This has been claimed as a distortion of historical facts and critics have declared it misrepresents the terrorists’ real identities. They have also claimed it offends Hindu sentiments.
A section of the audience accused the makers of allegedly “whitewashing terrorism” by not mentioning the real names of the terrorists. The terrorists in the show are addressed as Chief, Doctor, Shankar, Bhola and Burger, which were their codenames for the hijack operation.
According to Indian government records, their real names were Ibrahim Athar, Shahid Akhtar Sayeed, Sunny Ahmed Qazi, Zahoor Mistry and Shakir.
Several people on social media started trending the hashtag #BoycottNetflix, alleging that IC 814 attempts to disparage the Hindu community by representing the terrorists as Hindus.
The protests led to Ms Shergill being summoned by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry. Sources told NDTV that the government is taking the matter “very seriously”, and that “nobody has the right to play with the Indian people’s sentiments”.
NDTV reported that Ms Shergill was asked why no captions or riders were issued to clearly display the real names of the hijackers, and why the hijackers looked “firm and sensitive” whereas the negotiators appeared “weak and confused”.
Bharatiya Janata Party social media chief Amit Malviya posted a vicious attack on X, accusing the series’ creators of trying to whitewash the criminal actions of Pakistani terrorists by giving them Hindu names.
On the other side, opposition leaders such as Priyanka Chaturvedi of the Shiv Sena (UBT) and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah criticised the selective outrage, and pointed to historical inaccuracies in other contentious films and series in recent months.
