Netflix head summoned over IC-814 series row

New Delhi : The government has summoned the content head of OTT platform Netflix over the series ‘IC-814: The Kandahar Hijack’, which has triggered a row over the depiction of hijackers, contending that nobody has the right to play with the sentiments of the nation. Official sources said the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has summoned the content head of Netflix India on Tuesday, seeking an explanation on the allegedly contentious aspects of the OTT series portraying the 1999 hijack of an Indian Airlines flight by Pakistan-based terror outfit Harkat-ul-Mujahideen.

The depiction of hijackers of the Indian Airlines flight from Kathmandu to Delhi has stirred controversy with a section of viewers objecting to the ‘humane’ projection of the perpetrators. “Nobody has the right to play with the sentiments of the people of this nation. Indian culture and civilisation should always be respected,” another official source said.

“Should we allow any foreign people to slipshod over our cultural values,” the source said without elaborating. The sources said filmmakers have to think before portraying something in a wrong manner. “You may be liberal, but you cannot portray institutions in a wrong manner,” the source said. Using hashtags #BoycottNetflix, #BoycottBollywood and #IC814, several X users shared posts claiming the filmmakers changed the names of the hijackers to ‘Shankar’ and ‘Bhola’ to allegedly protect the terrorists who belonged to a certain community.