Netflix Hits Legal Turbulence in India Over Hit ‘IC 814’ Hijack Series

Netflix is embroiled in a legal dispute with Asian News International (ANI) over the streaming giant’s hit series “IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack.”

The drama, directed by Anubhav Sinha, is a fictionalized version of the 1999 hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814, which was en route from Kathmandu to New Delhi when it was diverted to Kandahar, Afghanistan. The series is currently No. 2 on Netflix’s Global Top 10 Non-English shows.

In a suit filed with the Delhi High Court, the news agency alleges copyright infringement over archival ANI footage used in the series and wants four episodes of the six-episode show to be taken down. Netflix declined to comment when approached by Variety as it is an ongoing legal matter. The court will hear the matter on Friday.

The series has experienced turbulence since it started streaming on Aug. 29. Some social media users took umbrage with the fact that the hijackers depicted in the series called each by Hindu names, despite being Muslims from Pakistan. A member of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) posted on X: “The hijackers of IC-814 were dreaded terrorists, who acquired aliases to hide their Muslim identities. Filmmaker Anubhav Sinha, legitimized their criminal intent, by furthering their non-Muslim names. Result? Decades later, people will think Hindus hijacked IC-814.”

However, a statement issued by India’s home ministry in 2000 (India was under BJP rule from 1998 to 2004) available in the public domain confirms the Pakistani Muslim identities of the hijackers and states: “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.”

To clarify the matter Netflix updated the disclaimer that appears before the show in India. “For the benefit of audiences unfamiliar with the 1999 hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814, the opening disclaimer has been updated to include the real and code names of the hijackers,” Netflix said.

The drama, adapted from the book “Flight Into Fear” by Captain Devi Sharan and Srinjoy Chowdhury, explores the crisis from multiple angles. It offers a multifaceted look at the incident, showcasing the tense negotiations in Delhi’s War Room, the high-stakes diplomacy at Taliban-controlled Kandahar, and the terrifying ordeal faced by passengers and crew aboard the hijacked aircraft.

This is the second time this year that Netflix has faced calls to remove Indian content from its service. In January, Tamil-language film “Annapoorani: The Goddess of Food,” headlined by “Jawan” actor Nayanthara, was pulled from Netflix after attracting multiple complaints from Hindu groups, who filed police complaints on the grounds that it offended Hindu religious sentiments.

“The film has been removed at the licensor’s request,” a Netflix spokesperson had told Variety at the time. The film has since resurfaced on streamer Simply South.

In 2021, Prime Video had to apologize for its Indian original series “Tandav,” some parts of which had offended members of the ruling Hindu nationalist dispensation.