Netflix Show In Trouble; Social Media Wants A Boycott

On August 30, Netflix unveiled a new drama series named IC 814: The Kandahar Attack. The series is based on a set of real life incidents in 1999, where a plane set to fly from Kathmandu to Delhi was hijacked and forcibly flown to Kandahar, Afghanistan.

The show focuses on these events, highlighting what the passengers, crew members, top-level bureaucrats and negotiators went through in the wake of this hijack event. Right now, this show is in some serious trouble, with the ministry of Information & Broadcasting sending summons to Netflix India head Monika Shergill. Even people on social media seem to be miffed.

IQ84… is directed by Anubhav Sinha, who had previously made films like Thappad and Article 15. Even these films have angered certain sections of the audience with their sensitive subject matter. Right now, the controversy around IC 814 surrounds around how the hijackers were referred to in the series. According to an official report filed by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the names of the 5 hijackers were — Ibrahim Athar, Shahid Akhtar Sayed, Sunny Ahmed Qazi, Mistry Zahoor Ibrahim and Shakir. However, the hijackers in the series have been referred by the names Chief, Doctor, Burger, Bhola and Shankar. These were the actual code names the hijackers used to call each other on the plane during the hijack.

Now, people are offended by the use of Hindu names like Bhola and Shankar to refer to radical Islamic fundamentalists. This has also caused many netizens to refer Netflix as a hinduphobic platform. And after #BoycottNetflix has been trending for a while on X, the I&B ministry took cognisance, sending a summons to Monika Shergill, Netflix India head, to address this issue.

This is not the first time Netflix has been accused of portraying Hindus in a poor light, with original shows like Leila and films like Maharaj previously hurting people’s sentiments. Now, it remains to be seen how Netflix will address this issue and get out of this mess.