The teaser of IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack — filmmaker Anubhav Sinha’s OTT debut — has dropped on Netflix, with the promise of an edge-of-the-seat ride.
The thriller series pivots around the events that transpired both on and off the plane after the Indian Airlines flight was hijacked shortly after departing from Kathmandu. This incident marks the longest hijacking in the history of Indian aviation.
The teaser opens with Vijay Varma’s character, the pilot of flight IC-814, welcoming the passengers on board. Soon, a group of armed men in masks take over the plane and unleash terror on the passengers, sending the corridors of power in New Delhi into a tizzy. As Indian officials plan to restrict the flight within the Indian airspace, news reaches that the terrorists have flown it to Kandahar. What ensues is a battle of nerves between the hijackers and the negotiators of the Indian government.
“188 onboard, and the entire nation held at gunpoint. Based on true events - IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack, a limited series, arrives on August 29, only on Netflix. #IC814OnNetflix,” Netflix wrote on X alongside the one-minute teaser.
IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack features an ensemble cast comprising Vijay Varma, Naseeruddin Shah, Pankaj Kapur, Manoj Pahwa, Kumud Mishra, Arvind Swamy, Amrita Puri, Dia Mirza, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Patralekha, Pooja Gor, Anupam Tripathi, Kanwaljit Singh, Aditya Srivastava, Sushant Singh and Yashpal Sharma.
The New Delhi-bound flight IC-814 was hijacked on December 24, 1999, when five terrorists took control of the plane 40 minutes after its departure from Kathmandu. The aircraft, carrying around 180 passengers, was held hostage for seven days. It flew from Kathmandu to Amritsar, then to Lahore for refueling, and subsequently to Dubai. From Dubai, it flew to Taliban-controlled Kandahar, where the hostages were finally released on December 31, 1999.
One of the significant outcomes of this hijacking was the release of dreaded terrorists by the Government of India, in exchange for the hostages.
IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack is set to stream on Netflix August 29 onwards.
