Netflix India has assured Centre that in the future, content will be in accordance with “nation’s sentiments”, sources have said. The OTT giant’s assurance comes at the back of a row involving its web series ‘IC 814 Kandahar Hijack’. 

The series, which revisits the harrowing 1999 hijacking of an Indian Airlines flight by Pakistan-based terror outfit Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, has triggered a fierce backlash, culminating in an hour-long meeting between the streaming giant and the Centre.

Directed by Anubhav Sinha and released on August 29, it portrays the hijackers of the ill-fated flight in a manner that has drawn ire from various quarters, particularly due to the alleged alteration of their names to “Bhola” and “Shankar,” traditionally associated with Lord Shiva. This depiction has been perceived as a distortion of historical facts, with critics arguing that it misrepresents the real identities of the terrorists, thereby offending Hindu sentiments.

The release of ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’ has also ignited a war of words on social media. BJP IT Cell chief Amit Malviya accused the filmmakers of furthering an agenda to whitewash the crimes of Pakistani terrorists by giving them Hindu names, thereby misleading future generations. On the other side, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Shiv Sena-UBT leader Priyanka Chaturvedi criticised the outrage as selective, pointing out the inconsistencies in demands for historical accuracy in cinema. 

On platforms like X (formerly Twitter), hashtags such as #BoycottNetflix and #BoycottBollywood began trending, with users accusing the filmmakers of rewriting history and downplaying the terror inflicted by the actual hijackers. 

However, a Union Home Ministry document, released in the immediate aftermath of the 1999 hijacking has set the record straight.

The statement categorically states that the hijackers – Sunny Ahmed Qazi, Shakir a.k.a Rajesh Gopal Verma, Mistri Zahoor Ibrahim, Shahid Akhtar Sayed and Ibrahim Athar used nicknames like Bhola, Shankar, Doctor and Burger to address each other inside the plane.

“To the passengers of the hijacked place these hijackers came to be known respectively as (1) Chief, (2) Doctor, (3) Burger, (4) Bhola and (5) Shankar, the names by which the hijackers invariably addressed one another,” the government statement reads.

According to a law ministry order issued late Monday through a gazette notification, the panel will have a full-time chairperson and four full-time members including member-secretary.