‘IC 814- The Kandahar Hijack’ Review: Experienced actors handled the landing of this plane very well

The 1999 Kandahar plane hijacking incident is still remembered as a dark chapter in Indian history. When the whole world was engrossed in the excitement of the arrival of the new century Y2K, on ​​24 December 1999, a day before Christmas, Indian Airlines flight IC 814, which left for Delhi from Kathmandu, carrying about 175 people, was hijacked by terrorists. This plane in possession of the hijackers first landed in Kandahar via Amritsar and then Lahore and Dubai. Seven days later, these passengers were safely sent back home in exchange for the release of three terrorists Maulana Masood Azhar, Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar and Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, who were lodged in Indian jails. Now director Anubhav Sinha, famous for the web series ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’ based on this incident, has knocked on OTT.

‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’ Trailer

‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’ web series review

This series is an adaptation of IC 814’s original pilot Captain Devi Sharan’s book ‘Flight Into Fear’, which depicts various aspects in detail such as the panic of the passengers, the anger of their families, the challenges faced by the pilots and cabin crew, the attitude of the hijackers, the struggle of the Indian government and officials, the attitude of the media. Along with this, Anubhav also tries to answer all the troubling questions till now that how did the security agencies not know about such a big conspiracy or how did they commit negligence?

When the commandos were ready for the operation in Amritsar, how did the hijackers manage to take the plane to Lahore? Why was the plane taken to Kandahar? What was the role of the Taliban in this? By the way, after 25 years of this incident, much of this information is available on the public forum. That was the time of Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s coalition government. Therefore, before every decision, he/she had to wait for everyone’s consent. Secondly, the changed equations of India with international countries due to the Pokhran nuclear test and the Kargil war also played an important role in this accident. Anubhav Sinha has been successful in weaving all these aspects into the story.

Talking about direction, the initial episodes seem a bit flat. There is not much thrill in them. Scenes like the Indian officer eating biryani with Maulana Masood Azhar seem odd. At the same time, the indecisive attitude of the Indian officers towards such a big incident creates anger. However, as the story progresses, the series picks up its rhythm. The scene of emergency landing in the dark in Lahore gives a chill, while the depiction of basic problems like toilets that arose in these 8 days in the plane makes one emotional.

IB Additional Director Mukul Mohan’s (Manoj Pahwa) domineering style of negotiating with terrorists is good. The use of real footage of that period makes it credible.

A big strength of the series is the support of experienced actors. Vijay Verma has done a good job in the role of Captain Sharan Dev. he/she has portrayed every aspect of the captain’s helplessness, bravery, wisdom without showing heroism. Patralekha and Aditi Gupta win hearts with their acting in the role of air hostess.

Naseeruddin Shah, Pankaj Kapoor, Aditya Shrivastava, Dibyendu Bhattacharya make an impact in their limited roles as Indian officers. Arvind Swamy, Kumud Mishra and Manoj Pahwa have done a good job. Amrita Puri impresses as a sharp journalist, while Dia Mirza has got very little screen space.

However, amidst such a great cast, Anubhav Sinha has not been able to choose effective actors for the role of terrorists. These actors are not able to create that fear. The production value of the film is good, but there was scope for improvement in the background score and editing. Despite this, this series turning the pages of history can be watched once.

Why watch- To understand the history and geography of the Kandahar plane hijacking, this series must be watched once.