What Is the Story About?
IC 814 : The Kandahar Hijack follows the real life chilling terror hijack incident that occured in the month of December, 1999 when the Indian Airlines flight IC 814 got hijacked enroute Kathmandu to Delhi and was diverted to Kandahar, Afganistan (under Taliban’s control).
The 6 episode taut and rightly researched mini-series follows how the hijack unravelled, the hostage situation and subsequent survival through the eyes of the pilots, cabin-crew, passengers, government officials and government itself.
Performances?
The strongest pillar of IC 814 : The Kandahar Hijack is its stellar, higly credible and competitive cast. Each and every character is played by an extremely capable actor, which otherwise would have crumbled the show.
Vijay Varma in particular is stellar as Captain Saran. He embeds the spirit of the real captain in charge during the incident and presents a new hero to the audience – the selfless, calm and diligent kind whose minute mis-step could have unimaginable consequences and casualties.
Manoj Pahwa – a regular in Anubhav Sinha’s movies, expectedly churns another landmark performance as one of the officials in charge trying to find a way through the hijack and negotiations.
Naseeruddin Shah and Pankaj Kapur shoulder the series and their scenes together are nothing short of cinematic marvels. Watching them in the meeting room scene in pilot episode itself gives you a reason to finish the show. Kumud Mishra, Aravind Swamy, Dibyendu Bhattacharya and Squid Game fame Anupam Tripathi also are effortless in their parts. Pooja Gor and Aditi Gupta Chopra are particularly fine, while Patralekha Paul lacks the vigor in comparison to Aditi in a similar role. However, the actors playing the hijackers were quite a let down and their negotiation scenes with seasoned actors appeared lackluster.
Analysis
Based on the book, ‘Flight Into Fear’, by Captain Devi Sharan and Srinjoy Chowdhury, written by Adrian Levy and Trishant Srivastava and directed by Anubhav Sinha, IC 814 : The Kandahar Hijack is a highly research and meticulously developed grounded mini series following the real life Hijack incident of 1999 – when an Indian Airlines flight IC 814 was hijacked by pro-Taliban terrorists in exchange of their leaders Masoor Azhar, Ahmed Omar Saeed Shaikh and the likes who were then in Indian prisons.
IC 814 : The Kandahar Hijack unravels one of the darkest chapters in the history of National security, Indian Diplomacy, International Relations, and civilian rescue operations during terror adversities. The Kandahar Hijack still haunts the survivors as one of the most mis-managed crisis ever by the government of India.
The show begins with a voiceover that narrates a precedent to the situation in Kathmandu, Nepal with regard to spy activities and terror outfit operations while introducing the terrifying IC 814 Hijack incident. The narration swiftly shifts to Indian spies in Kathmandu, one of them who vigilantly alerts of suspicious passengers in IC 814, which obviously gets ignored.
As IC 814 takes off, it gets hijacked by a group of 5 masked men with suspected ties to Taliban or ISI (in the beginning). The cabin crew and pilots are forced to take the flight to Kabul, Afghanistan. However, due to lack of fuel, the flight takes on multiple emergency landings in Amritsar, Lahore and Dubai for re-fuelling and Indian government aided rescue attempts. Due to repetitive failure from the government machineries, NSG, IB, RAW and police force, the flight is then forced to land in Kandahar by the hijackers.
IC 814 : The Kandahar Hijack follows everything that transpires after and during the landings and how the survivors, cabin crew and pilots hanged on to the tiniest rays of hope. Unlike other hostage themed movies from India, IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack presents a very human and grounded picture of survival and human strength while exposing the incapability of an elected machinery in decision making.
The mental and physical assault the passengers and cabin crew underwent by armed terrorists and lethargic response by the government and failed rescue attempts takes center stage in the show and reminds us how it was one of the biggest crisis mis-management cases in the history of National security. The show captures the claustrophobia and tension encapsulating the hostages and evens it out without exaggeration while shedding light on the loopholes and flaws in the system when it comes to ‘taking a call’.
Besides, IC 814 : The Kandahar Hijack has a flawless cast that does the much needed heavy lifting everytime the pacing takes a dip. Having some of the strongest acting names share screen, debate, negotiate, go back and forth discussing the how’s and what’s itself is a delightful experience for the audience. The makers’ undeniable bravura in criticising the current regime (that was also in power during the Pokhran Nuclear test sanctions, Kargil War and Hijack situation) should also be lauded.
However, IC 814 : The Kandahar Hijack could have benefitted even more with a crisper run-time like the MH 370 : The Plane that Disappeared. However, it is understandable that presenting a terror-hijack incident with all its public facts and figures, backdoor dealings, compromises and negotiations would demand some amount of breather in the beginning for a tense show-down.
In short, IC 814 : The Kandahar Hijack is a gripping show that engages, informs and ponders upon a dark chapter in the history of our country’s national security. It asks a lot of questions – what is the constitution for, if not for people? What are the security organisations for, if not for people? were blame games and conspiracy theories worth human lives? whom to blame for delayed decisions and actions not-taken? who is accountable for the lives lost and harmed?
Music and Other Departments?
IC 814 : The Kandahar Hijack is a stunningly produced series. Ravi Kiran a Ayyagari and Ewan Mulligan’s camera work captures the most out of closed spaces, the flight interiors, the secluded spaces in Kathmandu, the meeting rooms and ATCs with utmost care and imparts tension diligently.
The music and sound department headed by Edwin Cox and Albin Dominic keeps the show even more realistic and grounded with their muted and equally claustrophobia inducing background score for a one of a kind payoff in the last episode.
Highlights?
Ensemble Cast
Premise
Truthfulness & Research
Edge of the seat narrative
Drawbacks?
Meandering Pace
Frequent Voiceover
Did I Enjoy It?
Yes.
Will You Recommend It?
Yes.
IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack Series Review by Binged Bureau