IC- 814 row: Netflix content head meets I&B, ensures ‘future content in accordance with nation’s sentiments’

Monika Shergill, the content chief of OTT platform Netflix India, is meeting the Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting today and has assured the Centre that “all future content on their platform will be sensitive to and in accordance with the nation's sentiments.”

ANI reported that the meeting is being held at Shastri Bhawan to discuss certain contentious issues on the web series based on the Hijacking of IC-814.

Asked why Netflix head was summoned, ANI reported, citing government sources, “Nobody has the right to play with the sentiments of the people of this nation. India's culture and civilization should always be respected. You should think before portraying something in a wrong manner.”

“The govt is taking it very seriously,” government sources told ANI.

Further, sources told ANI , “Netflix team has come to the meeting with research documents and footage that have been collected for reference. The OTT platform will be putting forward their view that the series is in accordance with publicly available resources, with the information taken from books and other government statements.”

Government sources told ANI, “Netflix has provided an assurance to conduct a content review and guarantee that all future content on their platform will be sensitive to and in accordance with the nation's sentiments.”

The Netflix series ‘IC-814- The Kandahar Hijack’ triggered a row on social media, with a section of viewers objecting to the 'humane' projection of the perpetrators. 

The government raised concerns that the series may offend national sentiments, asserting that no one should undermine the country's emotions.

“Nobody has the right to play with the sentiments of the people of this nation. Indian culture and civilisation should always be respected,” another official source said.

“Should we allow any foreign people to slipshod over our cultural values,” the source said without elaborating.

The sources said filmmakers have to think before portraying something wrong. “You may be liberal, but you cannot portray institutions in a wrong manner,” the source told PTI.

Also Read: ‘Qualify to troll me’: Anubhav Sinha’s old tweet gets slammed amid Netflix’s IC 814 The Kandahar Hijack controversy

Earlier, PTI reported, citing sources, that the ministry is seeking an explanation regarding the controversial elements of the OTT series depicting the 1999 hijacking of an Indian Airlines flight by the Pakistan-based terror group Harkat-ul-Mujahideen.

Also Read: ‘Whitewashing crimes of Pakistani…’ BJP slams ’IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’ makers for concealing Muslim names

Using hashtags #BoycottNetflix, #BoycottBollywood, and #IC814, several X users criticised the series for allegedly changing the hijackers' names to 'Shankar' and 'Bhola,' claiming this was done to obscure the terrorists' community affiliation. 

Also Read: IC814: The Kandahar Hijack row: PIL in Delhi HC seeks ban on Netflix’s web-series

Indian Airlines Flight 814

On December 24, 1999, five terrorists—Ibrahim Athar, Sunny Ahmed Qazi, Zahoor Ibrahim, Shahid Akhter, and Sayed Shakir—hijacked the IC-814 plane during its flight from Kathmandu to Delhi. Over eight days, at least 154 passengers and crew were held hostage.

Also Read: IC 814 hijack hero Captain Devi Sharan once spooked by ‘haunted’ UAE hotel, reveals new book

The standoff concluded when the Indian government agreed to release hardcore terrorists Masood Azhar, Omar Sheikh, and Mushtaq Ahmad Zargar. Then, External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh escorted them on a special plane to Kandahar.

The series ‘IC-814: The Kandahar Hijack’ features an ensemble cast that includes Vijay Varma, Naseeruddin Shah, Pankaj Kapur, Manoj Pahwa, Kumud Mishra, Arvind Swamy, Dia Mirza, and Patralekhaa.

(With inputs from agencies)