Vijay Varma was recently seen in Anubhav Sinha’s drama series, IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack. Based on real-life events, the series chronicles the incident of Indian Airlines flight IC 814’s hijack that took place in 1999 en route to Kathmandu-Delhi journey. The actor plays the role of a pilot, Captain Sharan Dev in the series, inspired by Captain Devi Sharan known for his bravery during the 1999 hijacking. Amid IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack becoming the talk of the town, Vijay recently compared its success with the ‘box-office Tsunami’ on social media. The actor also congratulated director Anubhav Sinha for his ‘superhit’ series.

On September 9, Vijay Varma took to Instagram to share a picture of himself donning his look from the series, IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack. Vijay looks smart as a pilot while he stands proudly in the uniform against the backdrop of a resting plane. The actor has a black uniform with yellow stripes on the cuffs and buttons at the front. He is sporting a pair of sunglasses.

His post also features a glimpse of IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack reaching the top spot in the must-watch streaming originals in India. Extending the news to his fans, the actor penned a lengthy note for its successful run.

In the caption, Vijay compared IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack to “box-office Tsunami, thunderstorm and avalanche” while describing its success. Calling the series, a “world-class show”, the actor referred to it as the “sweetest drizzle”.

He also thanked the audience for watching Vijay-starrer. Vijay also tagged Anubhav Sinha and congratulated him for the “superhit” series.

“If this was a theatrical you’d hear words like BOXOFFICE TSUNAMI, THUNDERSTORM and AVALANCHE to describe the success. But since it’s just a world-class show.. I’d like to call it The Sweetest Drizzle. Thank you to our lovely audience Congratulating Sinha, Vijay added, Aapko SUPERHIT hua hai (Superhit is born).”

Take a look at his post here:

Anubhav Sinha’s IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack has been facing backlash for “inaccuracies” in its content across the Internet. Starring Vijay Varma, Pankaj Kapur, Naseeruddin Shah, Manoj Pahwa, and Patralekhaa, the drama series is based on the 1999 hijack of the Kathmandu-Delhi Air India flight. A couple survived the IC 814 hijack back then and now their daughter is training to be a pilot. Shivangi Menon, the aspiring pilot, shared that she wants to learn to handle such situations.

According to a report by News 18, Shivangi Menon, who is undergoing a training period at Air India Express, is a junior first officer there. Shivangi shared how the 1999 hijack incident inspired the trainee pilot to pursue her journey. This comes amid the ongoing chatter of Vijay Varma-starrer.

Referring to the IC 814 hijack as the “turnaround moment” in India’s aviation sector, Shivangi recalled that she would initially ask her parents who experienced the hijack while returning from their honeymoon. The trainee pilot then researched the incident on the Internet. Shivangi also watched a documentary on National Geographic in which she watched the shots of her parents coming back.

“I wanted to know how to handle such a situation. Today, we are well-trained in anti-hijack operations. I want to do this for my country,” she told the portal.

Shivangi overheard a conversation of her parents discussing the 1999 hijack at the age of 5, her father, Bipin Menon shared. He continued that the trainee pilot decided to pursue the aviation sector when she was studying 11th Standard.

Bipin spoke about witnessing the hijackers while the passengers were seated in the lounge after the flight was delayed. The survivor of the IC 814 hijack recalled that the hijackers were “eyeing” the passengers and the latter got uncomfortable. However, they didn’t pay much attention to the moment.

Bipin further expressed that he feels “impressed” by his daughter for choosing a profession that does not have too many women. Reportedly, the trainee pilot is all set to fly in a few days.

Former R&AW Chief AS Dulat has pointed out several inaccuracies in IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack including that the Indian intelligence received information about the hijack. Denying the claim, Dulat told The Print that they had “no warning” at all.

Have you watched IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack yet?