<keyword id="19897536" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="netflix" source="keywords">Netflix</keyword> recently released Anubhav Sinha’s <keyword id="20777484" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="IC-814" source="keywords">IC 814</keyword>: The <keyword id="22293323" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Kandahar-Hijack" source="keywords">Kandahar Hijack</keyword>, a show based on true events detailed in Devi Sharan and Srinjoy Chowdhury’s book Flight into Fear: A Captain’s Story. It's suffice to say that the show has garnered quite a bit of attention, considering it is a chilling reminder of the harrowing, 8-day-long Indian Airlines flight hijack that eventually ended in the Taliban-controlled territory of Kandahar. The star-studded cast, which included <keyword id="19901508" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="vijay-varma" source="keywords">Vijay Varma</keyword>, Naseeruddin Shah, Pankaj Kapur, Aravind Swamy and Dia Mirza, the supporting cast and the show's makers did a phenomenal job in stitching together a gripping narrative around what went on during the 1999 hijack. We get to see a representation of the brave captain, five disconcerting hijackers and the only casualty from the hijack, Rupin Katyal, as Rupesh, among others. The hijackers addressed one another as Chief, Doctor, Burger, Bhola and Shankar, as per the Union home minister's statement, published on January 6, 2006. The same names have been used in the series that has sparked a fresh controversy now with some netizens accusing the makers of hiding the real names of the terrorists: Ibrahim Athar, Sunny Ahmed Qazi, Zahoor Ibrahim, Shahid Akhter and Sayed Shakir. Amid all this controversy, one key detail that the show missed has failed to get any spotlight! <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="112990033" title="I&amp;amp;B Ministry summons Netflix India&amp;#39;s head of content over &amp;#39;IC 814&amp;#39; web series" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> <h2>Omission by choice?</h2>For those who remember the entire hijack episode when it happened, the show IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack may feel incomplete as it failed to highlight one key element. On the show, there was one white passenger who demanded to be seated in the business class even as the armed men threatened to harm him and were later subjected to plenty of torment by the hijackers. While the show didn’t name him as such, it did lead us to wonder if that character was a reference to <keyword id="23021199" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Roberto-Giori" source="keywords">Roberto Giori</keyword> — a special passenger on IC 814 who might’ve played a huge role in mounting international pressure on the Indian government’s to release three prisoners from Indian jails. Roberto Giori was a Swiss-Italian businessman whose influence in global finance added a crucial dimension to the crisis. Giori, the then owner of De La Rue Giori, controlled 90% of the world’s currency-printing business, making him a <keyword id="23021200" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="high-profile-hostage" source="keywords">high-profile hostage</keyword>. Giori was returning from a holiday in Kathmandu with his companion, Cristina Calabresi, when the plane was hijacked by five armed men from the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen terrorist group, TIME <a href="https://time.com/archive/6954850/who-was-that-special-passenger/">reported</a> in 2000. “At one point during the eight-day hijacking of <keyword id="20779541" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-Airlines-Flight-814" source="keywords">Indian Airlines Flight 814</keyword>, the abductors demanded $200 million from the Indian government. Little did they know that one of the hostages could have effortlessly written them a check for that amount,” said the TIME. <h2>A high-profile hostage</h2>The flight’s descent into chaos saw all passengers experience extreme duress, including threats to their lives, substandard living conditions and constant psychological pressure. And despite his stature, Giori wasn’t treated any differently. It is suspected that the hijackers weren’t aware of his position either. But what made Giori’s presence on the flight particularly intriguing was the response it elicited from the <keyword id="20900102" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Swiss-government" source="keywords">Swiss government</keyword>. Switzerland, fully aware of Giori’s influence, reportedly dispatched a special envoy to Kandahar and is said to have quietly pressured the Indian government to ensure his safe release. This <keyword id="20546334" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="diplomatic-intervention" source="keywords">diplomatic intervention</keyword> was not widely publicised at the time, but it likely added another layer of urgency to the already intense negotiations. After seven days of tense standoff, the Indian government made the difficult decision to release three high-profile militants, including Maulana Masood Azhar, to secure the safe return of all hostages. The experience left a lasting impact on Giori, who later reflected on the ordeal as a life-changing event. He noted that the determination and preparedness of the hijackers were a stark reminder of the real and present dangers in the world. He also remarked on how what he experienced on the plane had changed him forever. “I don’t know what it is: Hinduism, the so-called fatalism of Indians. But the way the passengers stayed so calm throughout, even the children, was exemplary. I told myself, if the plane had been full of Italians or French, it would have been very different,” he was quoted as saying. The Netflix series, as it receives praise for its gripping depiction of the hijacking, surprisingly missed the opportunity to explore this fascinating angle. Giori’s presence on the flight was not just a footnote; it is said to be a pivotal element that underscores the global ramifications of the event. His story is a reminder of how international diplomacy, wealth and power intersect in the most unexpected ways, even in situations as harrowing as an aircraft hijacking. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="112857213" title="MH370: Exploring compelling conspiracy theories around Malaysian Airlines’ mysterious flight disappearance episode" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>

Missing link in IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack had one “very important” European passenger — one the Netflix show surprisingly didn’t highlight

The December 24, 1999 hijack of the Indian Airlines flight is getting a series treatment at Netflix with <keyword id="19913032" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="anubhav-sinha" source="keywords">Anubhav Sinha</keyword> attached as creator and director. The show is titled "IC 814: The Kandhar Hijack" and stars <keyword id="19901508" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="vijay-varma" source="keywords">Vijay Varma</keyword>, Patralekha, Pankaj Kapur, Naseeruddin Shah, Arvind Swamy, Dia Mirza, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Amrita Puri, and Anupam Tripathi. According to the makers, the series revolves around "the 24th December 1999 hijacking of the Indian Airlines flight IC 814 which was en route from Kathmandu to New Delhi. It was taken to Kandahar. The hijack lasted seven days and while the crew and passengers suffered, officers back home tried to find a solution to bring them home." Sinha, known for films such as "Mulk", "Article 15" and "Bheed", said it was a responsibility to be as authentic as possible while working on the series. "When I started doing research, almost everyone remembers a few things about the hijack, and what all happened during the process. I realised it is a very complex story and a lot of things happened in those seven days and not many people know about it. "I met a lot of officers, passengers, the pilot, and there was a lot more to share. We have put it all in the show... We had to make it factually correct and yet dramatic and engaging... It was an interesting process," the director said at the Next on Netflix event here. Sinha added Monika <keyword id="20775712" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="shergill" source="keywords">Shergill</keyword>, Vice President, Content, Netflix India, had promised him that the shooting of the series will conclude within eight months but it went on for two years. Shergill described the show as a "thrilling, propulsive rendition of the longest hijacking in the history of aviation in the world". "When we started out on this story, it took us a while to get down to actually making it in the right way. It was a journey for us because it is such a journalistic sort of piece, but it is such a large story of human interest and it had to be told in the most dramatic and thrilling fashion," Shergill told PTI. Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Pooja Gor, Kanwaljit Singh, Aditya Srivastava, <keyword id="19983483" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sushant-singh" source="keywords">Sushant Singh</keyword>, and <keyword id="20361223" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="yashpal-sharma" source="keywords">Yashpal Sharma</keyword> also round out the cast of "IC 814: The Kandhar Hijack". SEE ALSO:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/oppo-f25-pro-with-a-32mp-selfie-camera-launched-starting-at-23999/articleshow/108102680.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/oppo-f25-pro-with-a-32mp-selfie-camera-launched-starting-at-23999/articleshow/108102680.cms" target="_blank">Oppo F25 Pro with a 32MP selfie camera launched starting at ₹23,999</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/upcoming-cars-launching-in-india-in-march-2024/slidelist/108095936.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/upcoming-cars-launching-in-india-in-march-2024/slidelist/108095936.cms" target="_blank">Upcoming cars launching in India in March 2024</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/webstories/upcoming-smartphones-launching-in-india-in-march-2024/slidelist/108090741.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/webstories/upcoming-smartphones-launching-in-india-in-march-2024/slidelist/108090741.cms" target="_blank">Upcoming smartphones launching in India in March 2024</a>

Netflix announces series on 1999 Kandahar hijack, Anubhav Sinha to direct show

The content head of <keyword id="19923295" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="OTT" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="OTT" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="OTT">OTT</keyword> platform <keyword id="19897536" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Netflix" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Netflix" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Netflix">Netflix</keyword> has been summoned on September 3 by the <keyword id="19967269" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ministry-of-Information-and-Broadcasting" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Ministry of Information and Broadcasting" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Ministry of Information and Broadcasting">Ministry of Information and Broadcasting</keyword> over the series 'IC-814 - The Kandahar <keyword id="20102314" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="hijack" source="keywords">Hijack</keyword>' which has triggered a row on social media over the depiction of the hijackers. In the OTT series, the five hijackers of the flight from Kathmandu are referred to as Chief, Doctor, Burger, Bhola and Shankar. "I vividly remember IC-814. I was very aware of that accident and very involved in following that. Every man and woman in India and indeed in South Asia knows that the hijack of IC-814 from Kathmandu was committed by Pakistan's ISI-backed terrorists. Now, nobody thinks that there were some people from India who did the hijacking. So how the people have Hindu names in that movie, I don't know. But I'm very happy that the I&amp;B Ministry and the GoI have taken cognizance of this and have summoned Netflix" BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar said. The Hijack drama created by <keyword id="19913032" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Anubhav-Sinha" source="keywords">Anubhav Sinha</keyword> and Trishant Shrivastava stars actors Naseeruddin Shah, Pankaj Kapur, Vijay Varma, Arvind Swamy, Patralekhaa and Dia Mirza. The six-episode series is based on real events. On December 24, 1999 flight <keyword id="20777484" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="IC-814" source="keywords">IC 814</keyword> an Indian Airlines Airbus A300 enroute to Delhi gets hijacked after take off from the Kathmandu Tribhuvan International Airport in Nepal shortly after it entered Indian airspace. Soon after take-off, five hijackers, who were posing as passengers, took control of the plane. The hostage crisis lasted for seven days and ended after the then <keyword id="23009406" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Prime-Minister-Atal-Bihari-Vajpayee" source="keywords">Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee</keyword> government agreed to release three militants. There were 191 passengers on board including 15 crew members, where one person was stabbed, who succumbed to his injuries, while several others were wounded. BJP's IT cell chief Amit Malviya had posted on X, "The hijackers of IC-814 were dreaded terrorists, who acquired aliases to hide their Muslim identities. Filmmaker Anubhav Sinha, legitimised their criminal intent, by furthering their non-Muslim names. Result? Decades later, people will think Hindus hijacked IC-814." Malviya further posted, "This will not just weaken / put in question India's security apparatus in the long run, but also shift the blame away from the religious cohort, that is responsible for all the bloodshed." In a suo motu statement by then External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh in Parliament stated that the hijacked IC-814 aircraft made several landings at Amritsar, Lahore, Dubai before being taken to Kandahar in Afghanistan. The government, then led by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, was forced to release three terrorists -- <keyword id="6459729" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Masood-Azhar" source="Orion">Masood Azhar</keyword>, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar -- from Indian prisons to secure the release of the hostages. Later, Masood Azhar went on to form Jaish-E-Mohammad, which claimed responsibility for Pulwama attack in India in 2019, 2001 Parliament attacks and 2016 Uri attacks, amongst others. Currently in Pakistan, Azhar remains active, and was seen attending a wedding in Bahawalpur city of Pakistan's Punjab last month, per media reports. As per a January 6, 200 statement by the Union Home Ministry the names of the hijackers were identified as Ibrahim Athar, Bahawalpur; Shahid Akhtar Sayed, Karachi; Sunny Ahmed Qazi, Karachi; Mistri Zahoor Ibrahim, Karachi and Shakir from Sukkur city "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 statement read.

I&B Ministry summons Netflix India's head of content over 'IC 814' web series

Propelled by the popularity of titles such as "<keyword id="19983826" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Heeramandi" source="keywords">Heeramandi</keyword>: The Diamond Bazaar", "<keyword id="20780480" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="The-Great-Indian-Kapil-Show" source="Orion">The Great Indian Kapil Show</keyword>" and "<keyword id="1047212" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amar-Singh-Chamkila" source="Orion">Amar Singh Chamkila</keyword>", India has emerged as the third country in <keyword id="22467054" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="revenue-per-cent-growth" source="keywords">revenue per cent growth</keyword> for streaming service <keyword id="19897536" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Netflix" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Netflix" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Netflix">Netflix</keyword> in its second quarter. The streamer released its second quarter earnings for 2024 on Thursday and <keyword id="1943179" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-content" source="Orion">Indian content</keyword> seems to have made significant strides this year alongside popular international shows such as "Bridgerton 3", "Baby Reindeer", Korean drama "Queen of Tears" and films such as "Hit Man" and "Under Paris". India and the UK have had especially strong slates this year, according to the streamer. In Q2, India was the second and third country in terms of paid net adds and revenue per cent growth, respectively, due to the success of titles like Sanjay Leela Bhansali's "Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar", which had 15 million views to become the streamer's biggest Indian drama series ever. Imtiaz Ali-directed biopic "Amar Singh Chamkila" with 8.3 million views was another major title for Netflix, which also registered success with licensed films such as Kiran Rao's "Laapataa Ladies" and Ajay Devgn-starrer horror drama "Shaitaan". From the UK, "Baby Reindeer", which has earned 11 Emmy nominations, emerged as the big hit with 88.4 million views. "The Gentlemen", "One Day" and "Fool Me Once" also spent multiple weeks on the streamer's global TV top 10 list. The upcoming line-up for India in 2024 includes non-fiction content such as "Modern Masters feat. SS Rajamouli", "Nayanthara: Beyond the Fairy Tale" and "Yo Yo Honey Singh". In the fiction space, most anticipated returning titles are "Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein" season two, "Phir Aayi Hasseen Dillruba", "The Great Indian Kapil Show S2", the third season of "Fabulous Lives Vs Bollywood Wives". Anubhav Sinha's gripping drama "IC814: The Kandahar Hijack", "Do Patti" and "Vijay 69" are some of the other projects from India to come out on the streamer this year.

India becomes third country in revenue percent growth for Netflix in Q2, aided by 'Heeramandi', 'Chamkila' success

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/50426543.cms" style="width: 800px; height: 600px;" /> Fresh firing continued this morning too. A fresh grenade blast claimed the life of an <keyword id="44790" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="NSG">NSG</keyword> commando, as three others succumbed to injuries in a hospital, taking the toll of Indian security personnel to seven since yesterday’s firing. 
 
Lt Col Niranjan, a member of the NSG's Bomb Disposal Squad, was killed while he was defusing the grenade at the scene of the terror attack as part of the combing operations that continued through the night. Four other security men were also injured in the blast. 
 
Defence sources said Niranjan, a resident of Kerala, was killed while trying to retrieve the grenade from the body of a dead terrorist. 
 
Three members of the Defence Security Corps (DSC) succumbed to injuries in the hospital here during the night. Home Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted: "Pained to know about the demise of Lt Col Niranjan of NSG during mopping up operations in <keyword id="6367205" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Pathankot">Pathankot</keyword>. The nation salutes his sacrifice." 
 
Four attackers, a Garud commando and three DSC were killed yesterday when heavily-armed Pakistani terrorists had attempted to storm the base, triggering a day-long gunbattle at the airbase, barely 35 kms from the Indo-Pak border. 
 
Among those battling for their lives in the hospital are 8 DSC personnel and a Garud commando. 
 
Meanwhile, the joint combing operation was still underway, a police official said, adding that the NIA had taken over the probe into the terror incident. Some senior officials of the Punjab Police led by DGP Suresh Arora are also present here. The official said the operation will end only after a thorough search, going on inside the <keyword id="6355075" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="IAF">IAF</keyword> base and nearby areas, was completed. 
 
Various security agencies, including the Army, Indian Air Force, Central forces and Punjab Police were involved in the joint operation. 
 
A large cache of arms and ammunition have already been recovered during the sanitisation and search operations. 
 
IAF helicopters were also seen flying over the base and nearby areas to assist the ground forces in the operations. 
 
In the wee hours yesterday, the group of terrorists in army fatigues had attempted to storm the base with the obvious intent of destroying MiG-21 fighter jets and MI-25 attack helicopters housed there. The attackers were believed to have infiltrated from Pakistan and there was speculation that they may belong to Jaish-e-Mohammad headed Maulana Masood Azhar of the Kandahar hijack episode. 
 
The terrorists were carrying Under Barrel Grenade Launchers, 52 mm mortars, AK rifles and GPS machine. 
 
Based on intercepts, security agencies believe that one Nazeer from Bahawalpur in Pakistan was leading the group. 
Defence sources said the terrorists sneaked into the nearly 2000-acre air base through a forested area where they were confronted by the Quick Reaction Team of Garud commandos. They managed to go up to 400 metres but were still 700 metres away from the area where the IAF aircraft fighters were stationed. 
 
(Image credits: indiatimes)

You Searched For "Kandahar Hijack" and got 5 results

Missing link in IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack had one “very important” European passenger — one the Netflix show surprisingly didn’t highlight

Ashmita Gupta

Netflix announces series on 1999 Kandahar hijack, Anubhav Sinha to direct show

PTI

I&B Ministry summons Netflix India's head of content over 'IC 814' web series

ANI

India becomes third country in revenue percent growth for Netflix in Q2, aided by 'Heeramandi', 'Chamkila' success

PTI

Fresh Grenade blasts claim lives of NSG commando and 3 other security men

BI India Bureau