'IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack' review: Many sides of Kandahar hijacking

Capitulation to terror elements, or a trade-off to save precious lives? Making a series on an incident which many are likely to see as an abject surrender to terrorists requires some courage. In times when we are blowing the trumpet of patriotism, when we are hyperventilating about how strong our response to terror is, to go against the tide is not everyone’s wont. But Anubhav Sinha, director-creator of ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’, does not tread the beaten path. Fictionalised accounts have hit the screens earlier too, but the manner in which Sinha brings alive the hijack drama of 1999, which as the series itself points out ‘history will not judge kindly’, follows a more balanced approach.

The infamous hijacking of Indian Airlines’ Airbus A300 from Kathmandu to Delhi on December 24, 1999, did not happen under the current dispensation. But it was the BJP government in power nevertheless. For those who don’t remember, Atal Bihari Vajpayee was running a coalition government at the Centre. Once the plane was hijacked, the planning for which happened in Nepal, the hub of espionage, we learn how the government vacillated, even though they did contemplate storming the plane with the help of Punjab Police commandos. As the authorities dithered, the plane flew from Amritsar to Dubai to finally land in Kandahar.

Made in a documentary style, using a lot of archival footage, the six-part Netflix series captures the dread and fear of the passengers. For a long time, it seems as if the intention of the series, based on ‘Flight into Fear’ written by Devi Sharan and Srinjoy Chowdhury, is to just play it out as a passengers’ diary. After all, to be hijacked for seven long days can only be an ordeal.

Sinha, who had no hesitation in showing piles of garbage in ‘Article 15’, makes us queasy with the sight of clogged toilets. More laudable, however, is that the director, who asked some tough questions in acclaimed films like ‘Mulk’ and ‘Article 15’, does not dilly-dally here too.

Indeed, he is not painting those in the thick of things as weaklings, or terrorists as outright demons, or Islamic nations as unfriendly. He presents many sides of the picture. There can’t be any ambiguity about the fact that but for one passenger, all were saved. But the series does not gloss over the price we paid and are still paying.

The ghosts of how the hijack issue was handled will certainly continue to haunt policymakers. Naseeruddin Shah as the Cabinet Secretary says, “We only let them know the constitutional choices. The job of bureaucracy ends here.” Only the maker’s job begins by recreating the events as truthfully as possible. And the series, which gives a blow-by-blow account of the seven days, does appear factual. Where the maker goes overboard is in his casting choices. It is almost like a class of Indian film industry. You name it, be it veterans like Naseeruddin Shah, Arvind Swami and Pankaj Kapur or finds of recent times like Vijay Varma, all are there.

Sinha, who in a way discovered the brilliance of the actor in Manoj Pahwa in his powerful ‘Mulk’, once again as the Additional Director, IB, gives him a part he can sink his teeth into. He is the chief negotiator. Among the crowd of so many superlative actors, there is a very real danger of many of them getting lost. And it takes a while to realise who is playing whom. Still, can anyone eclipse the might of Naseeruddin Shah, or a Pankaj Kapur in the part of foreign minister a la Jaswant Singh. In the final three episodes, we see more of the four men of the negotiating team which landed in Kandahar and actors like Arvind Swamy, playing the Joint Secretary, MEA, shine.

Pahwa’s tough act is peppered with humour and a dash of chutzpah. Afghanistan was then ruled by the Taliban, a government India did not recognise. When Swamy tries to drill sense into Afghanistan’s foreign minister, he certainly makes an impact as this sagacious official. Kumud Mishra, like always, is impressive. And away from the hijack drama, recording it all in print is the editor of a newspaper (Dia Mirza) and her correspondent. Then, we have a RAW agent (Anupam Tripathi of ‘Squid Game’ fame) with steely eyes and determination delivering on the dotted line, even after the hijack ends.

Vijay Varma, as captain Sharan of the plane who kept his cool in those trying circumstances, manages to mirror both the vulnerability and strength of a man caught in an unenviable situation. Are they heroes? Perhaps, yes, perhaps no. But, the series reminds us they did their job to the best of their ability. Why did the government do what it did, handing over dreaded terrorists like Masood Azhar, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and a Pakistani-backed Kashmiri militant, Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar? The government finds rationale in simple logic: human lives matter. Indeed, collateral damage in terrorism is a given. Whether it happens today or tomorrow, the choices are always tough. It’s this sobering thought that the well-shot series brings to the fore without shouting from the pulpit.

The final thoughts leave you with an uneasy feeling. ‘We won,’ says a member of the negotiating team. ‘Did we?’ responds another. ‘We fought!’ and ‘Did we?’ is the repartee. Writers Adrian Levy and Trishant Srivastav clearly get the gist of what the series intends to convey in this succinct conversation.

Watch it to know and understand more than what is already in the public domain. Beyond blame games, we all know there is always a human story and to err is human too.