IC 814 – The Kandahar Hijack uses an immensely talented ensemble cast to bring a shocking real-life tale. This show is about the 1999 hijacking of an Indian Airlines plane.

We were impressed by the deft direction and the captivating acting performances in this well-made limited series. It chronicles the longest hijack in the history of Indian aviation.

‘IC 814 – The Kandahar Hijack’ Is A Horrifying True Tale From India; Boasting A Great Cast & Narrating A Thrilling Drama

Synopsis: IC 814 – The Kandahar Hijack (2024) Mini-Series

This limited series, inspired by actual events, recounts the harrowing tale of an Indian Airlines flight. On December 24, 1999, flight IC 814 was hijacked while travelling from Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu to Delhi. The hijacking was by members of Harakat-ul-Mujahideen (HUM), a Pakistan-based organization.

So, the aircraft was ultimately redirected to Kandahar airport, which was under the control of the Taliban. It led to a perilous situation where numerous lives were endangered. Even as the Government of India confronted its most prolonged and distressing aviation crisis in its modern history.

This limited series narrative addresses the most prolonged aircraft hijacking in the history of modern India. The focus of its story centers on a grueling seven-day ordeal characterized by relentless fear, extraordinary bravery, critical decision-making, and the survival instincts of hundred plus passengers travelling in the said ill-fated plane.

Trailer: IC 814 – The Kandahar Hijack (2024) Mini-Series

This limited series was inspired by real events including an adaptation of the book titled "Flight into Fear: A Captain’s Story" by Captain Devi Sharan and Srinjoy Chowdhury.

Spoiler Free Series Review: IC 814 – The Kandahar Hijack (2024) Mini-Series

The introduction

In the summer (3 May to 26 July 1999) months, India had witnessed the scandalous Kargil War. Then, a few months later, in the winter (24 to 31 December 1999) month, the distressing Kandahar hijacking incident happened. Not surprisingly, this hijack series reminded us of both the Kargil (a newspaper editorial clip) and the Kandahar incidents. This hijacking of an Indian Airlines plane IC 814 marked the most extensive and troubling aviation crisis ever encountered.

Anubhav Sinha has created this gripping aviation drama series with a layered and complex storyline. Besides the title, he has used a multipronged approach to emphasize its theme.

The first part of the show focuses on the brave Captain and the air hostesses

One part of the story takes place inside the IC 814 plane. So, most of the claustrophobic tensions and heightened conflict scenes take place inside the Airbus A300 aeroplane. The armed hijackers smartly used verbal and physical threats to hijack the plane. Using their surprise card, they overwhelmed both the flight crew members as well as the flight passengers. Then they took complete control of the plane.

However, it is worth noting that the names of real-life characters have been changed in it. Maybe it was done to protect their identities and/or to avoid any needless controversies.

• Captain Sharan Dev (Vijay Varma),
• Indarani, Airhostess (Patralekhaa),
• Chaya, Airhostess (Aditi Gupta Chopra),
• Chief – code name, Plane Hijacker (Rajiv Thakur),
• Burger – code name, Plane Hijacker (Diljhon),
• Doctor – code name, Plane Hijacker (Harminder Singh), etc.

We liked the performances of Vijay Varma (a strong and silent Captain), Patralekhaa, Aditi Gupta Chopra, Rajiv Thakur, Harminder Singh and Diljhon. The helplessness and silent courage of the flight crew members (air hostesses) also came to the fore, especially Patralekha and Aditi. Rajiv Thakur excelled while playing a menacing terrorist; many would not believe that he started as a hilarious comedian (check his Instagram reels) in another show.

The second part of the show focuses on the media and its role in finding scapegoats

This part of the series is given a relatively smaller screen time, and rightly so. The second aspect of the show primarily focuses its attention on these two journalists.

• Shalini Chandra (Dia Mirza) – the editor of India’s Headlines,
• Nandini Martin (Amrita Puri) – the reporter of India’s Headlines, etc.

While covering the sensitive topic of plane hijack news, both journalists faced moral dilemmas. This situation was slickly portrayed in the show. In addition, the series smartly demonstrates the usual Press Information Bureau (PIB) press conferences by government officials. A couple of the scenes in the series also depicted the original footage of such conferences. Those archival video footage highlighted the raising of the popular dissenting voices and asking tough questions to the ruling class.

In a way, those scenes also underscore the complete absence of press-conference by the current government. In contrast, the 2024 government does not like to explain its actions.

The final part of the show focuses on the workings of the politicians and mandarins

It also focuses on the workings of the Government of India offices at North Block and South Block, New Delhi. So, we learned about the operation styles of different departments of the Government of India. It concentrated on the IB (Intelligence Bureau), the RAW (Research and Analysis Wing), the MEA (Minister of External Affairs), etc.

• Vijaybhan Singh, the Minister of External Affairs – MEA (Pankaj Kapur),
• Vinay Kaul, the Cabinet Secretary of India and the head of India’s Crisis Management Group (Naseeruddin Shah),
• D R Sivaramakrishnan/DRS, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of External Affairs (Arvind Swamy),
• Abhijeet Kumar, Senior Officer, Ministry of External Affairs (Dibyendu Bhattacharya),
• J P Kohli, Director at the Intelligence Bureau (Kanwaljit Singh),
• Mukul Mohan, additional director at the Intelligence Bureau (Manoj Pahwa),
• V K Agarwal, Head of the Research and Analysis Wing (Aditya Srivastava),
• Ranjan Mishra, Joint Secretary of the Research and Analysis Wing (Kumud Mishra), etc.

This show gives a peek into the intricate working dynamics of politics and spycraft. So, we see them at the highest level of the Government and even at the level of foreign embassies.

The makers used kid gloves in this thoughtful series

The weaknesses of the Indian Government headed by the PM have been mentioned in the spoilers shared below. The names of some of the politicians and officials depicted in the show have been omitted, changed and fictionalized. Interestingly, one of the characters named above is still serving in the present-day BJP government.

Maybe, its creators did not wish to be dragged into the courts and/or harrassed by the powerful people. However, in case, you are interested, then you can google them. Then you will find out the real people, who were holding these official positions in 1999. Although the makers have used the kids’ gloves in the narrative to steer clear of any kind of political controversies, they have failed in their attempt.

It is worth noting that in India, the incumbent 2024 government is once again led by the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) led NDA Government.

Now, this series exposes the ‘indecisions’ and ‘passing the buck’ syndromes that afflicted the politicians and bureaucrats serving in the 1999 BJP-led NDA government in India.

Still, many ‘Bhakts’ (devotees of the present BJP government) did not like the series

In the present day, not many wish to ruffle the features under the prevailing circumstances and the dominating culture of (banning/boycotting/cancelling/censoring) by the powerful mobocracy. The ruling dispensation would like to revisit those infamous and embarrassing historical incidents like the Kargil War and the Kandahar Hijack.

It seems that many ‘Bhakts’ do not like this riveting show because of the content of this series. So, the blind supporters of the BJP government called ‘Bhakts’ (devotees) have come out in large numbers to trend the #BoycottNetflix, #BoycottBollywood and Ban Netflix on social media platforms like X (Twitter), Facebook and others. These dedicated members (of the BJP IT cell) are trying to create needless controversy over the terrorists’ coded names. But that is not all. They have gone ahead and pulled down the IMDb ratings of this show.

In many cases in the last decade, they have abused, threatened, bullied, and harmed almost all the critics of the BJP government. And many times, their violence spills onto the streets. Recently, these ‘Bhakts’ followed the same boycott trend and downgraded the IMDb ratings of SRK movies like Pathaan, Jawan, Dunki, etc. But they failed, as they became hit.

However, it seems that nowadays, their offline power and online influence have waned considerably in India. The common people are no longer afraid to defy their public calls.

The conclusion

Besides its compelling story, this well-made limited series boasts a very high quality of the ensemble cast members acting in it. Now, it is difficult for us to pick our favourite among the senior actors, viz., Pankaj Kapur, Naseeruddin Shah, Arvind Swamy, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Kanwaljit Singh, Manoj Pahwa, Aditya Srivastava, Kumud Mishra, etc. Almost all of them have put in incredible performances as politicians and bureaucrats.

Besides all these top artists, one could see the intensity and aggressiveness in the eyes of the other actors who played the much-hated terrorists from across the border. Not to be outdone, all the cast members portraying flight crew members played their brave characters admirably. We loved the entire ensemble cast, as they sublimely portrayed the Heroes, the Sheroes, the Zeroes and the Villains. It is one of the top Hindi series of 2024 and we loved it. Kudos to Anubhav Sinha and his entire team for the splendid show.

FM Rating: IC 814 – The Kandahar Hijack (2024) Mini-Series

Poster: IC 814 – The Kandahar Hijack (2024) Mini-Series

Key Details: IC 814 – The Kandahar Hijack (2024) Mini-Series

Spoiler Alert: Summary of the Six (6) Episodes

To quote the MEA Website: 

"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. 

Sunny Ahmed Qazi
Shakir a.k.a Rajesh Gopal Verma
Mistri Zahoor Ibrahim
Shahid Akhtar Sayed
Ibrahim Athar

MEA Website Link: https://www.mea.gov.in/Speeches-Statements.htm?dtl/5481/Union+Home+Ministers+StatementIndian+Airlines+Flight+IC814

Abhijeet Kumar: "So we won."

D R Sivaramakrishnan/DRS: "Did we?"

Mukul Mohan: "We fought."

D R Sivaramakrishnan/DRS: "Did we?"

Poster, Featured and Other Images of IC 814 – The Kandahar Hijack (2024) Mini-Series | Images Credit: Netflix and Canva.com