IC814: The Kandahar Hijack - Entertaining, but faulty

Hijack dramas can be tense and thrilling, even if they follow predictable patterns. With a cast of legends like Naseeruddin Shah, Pankaj Kapoor, and Vijay Verma, one expects memorable performances and roles. However, IC814 doesn't quite deliver on those expectations. Based on the true events of December 1999, when IC 814 was hijacked and a week-long standoff in Taliban-controlled Kandahar ensued, the series retells one of the most infamous hijackings in Indian history. While the series is a mostly accurate retelling, its dramatic liberties often break the viewer's immersion.

What worked

One of the key strengths of IC814 is its neutral stance on Pakistan, a contrast to the hardline approach seen in films like Uri: The Surgical Strike, War, and Gadar 2, even showing how Indian agencies blame the Pakistani authorities because it supports a narrative their public readily accepts.

Even amidst protests from radical groups in India about ambiguous codenames for the hijackers, the series sticks to the verified accounts from passengers on board. Vijay Verma delivers a standout performance as the captain of the hijacked plane, while veterans Naseeruddin Shah and Pankaj Kapoor also shine in their limited screen time

The turmoil and sense of competition within the Indian bureaucracy and agencies was also highlighted in a noteworthy fashion. The use of actual news footage from the incident also adds a certain degree of authenticity to the story. The portrayal of the Afghan Taliban as mediators rather than the stereotypical violent antagonists adds a surprising layer of complexity. Though often depicted as violently one-dimensional in Western media, the Taliban are portrayed as mediators in IC814. They are shown as people who have their own set of rules and are content to live by them, a kind of portrayal that isn't associated with them.

What didn’t work

Despite remaining relatively true to the telling of the actual events, director Anubhav Sinha's creative liberties occasionally undermine the series' realism. As the plane is stranded on a Taliban-controlled runway in Kandahar, a passenger inexplicably plays a guitar, which clashes with the tense atmosphere and feels disconnected from reality.

If only Sinha had known about8 the Taliban’s actual stance on music, this could have been avoided. To make matters worse, as the Indian delegation arrives in Kandahar for negotiations, the crew and hijackers are bizarrely shown playing Antakshari together (sing-along). The fact that extremist hijackers would allow that, let alone participate, feels completely implausible and undercuts the tension.

Despite decent performances, Dia Mirza and Patralekha's roles contribute little to the narrative and feel like unnecessary subplots. Similarly, Captain Sharan's wife's role could have been omitted to avoid unnecessary slow patches.

Verdict

IC814 does well, in a genre where many films struggle to strike the right balance. The makers remain neutral in telling their story and reflect a fairly accurate picture of everything that transpired during that fateful week. The internal politics within the Indian government and intelligence agencies have been dealt with nuance and help viewers ask some pretty tough questions about the whole ordeal. Despite some unrealistic moments, IC814 distinguishes itself from the typical Bollywood projects based on real-life events, simply because it stays closer to eyewitness accounts.