IC 814 The Kandahar Hijack teaser: Anubhav Sinha packs gripping thriller series with Vijay Varma leading ensemble cast
Anubhav Sinha is all set to make his streaming debut with IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack. A thriller series based on the 1999 hijack of an Indian aircraft by five Pakistani militants, it has an ensemble cast and will premiere on Netflix India on August 29.
What’s in the teaser?
The teaser starts with a bunch of Indian passengers getting ready to take off from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal for a flight back home to Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi. Vijay Varma, who plays the pilot Sharan Dev here, asks the passengers to sit back and relax, before five masked militants put him on gunpoint, assault the air hostess, and hijack the flight, much to the terror of everyone.
The teaser then shows us that it’s not just any hijack, but the fate of an entire country is at stake. Indian government officials at various positions – played by Pankaj Kapur, Dia Mirza, Manoj Pahwa, and Naseeruddin Shah – spring to action back in New Delhi. The passengers are at a larger threat as they’re being flown to Kandahar in Afghanistan, then under the control of the Taliban.
Anubhav Sinha, best known for his gritty dramas like Mulk, Thappad, Article 17, and Bheed, is all set to make his streaming debut. He’ll reunite with his usual suspects – Dia Mirza (Cash, Thappad, Bheed) and Pankaj Kapur (Bheed) for his OTT series debut. It’s co-produced by his banner Benaras Media Works.
About the real-life event
An Indian aircraft IC 814 was hijacked on its way from Nepal to New Delhi in 1999 by a group of five masked Pakistani militants, who were members of the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM). They ordered the flight to be taken to multiple locations, and eventually to Kandahar, then controlled by the Taliban. Without giving potential spoilers, the outcome of that hijack changed the course of terrorism in India completely.
Interestingly, Vishal Bhardwaj was planning to direct a series on the Kandhar hijack earlier, but his project was shelved after the controversy around Prime Video India’s 2021 Original series, Tandav.