New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar addressed the recent controversy surrounding Netflix’s series ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’ on Friday, saying that his father was on another flight that was hijacked in 1984. Speaking to the Indian diaspora in Geneva, Jaishankar said that while he has not watched the series, he believes that filmmakers often depict the government in a negative light.
Speaking on the different Air India hijacking, Jaishankar said, ” In 1984, there was a hijack. I was a very young officer and was part of the team which was dealing with it. My son was a few months old and my wife used to work. So it was my day to go back home and feed him lunch.”
He added, “So I rang up my mother to tell her said ‘look I am unable to come, there’s a hijack’. It was then that I discovered that my father was on the flight.”
Regarding the behind-the-scenes workings of government during such crises, Jaishankar said, “Fortunately, no body got killed but it could have ended up wrongly. And it was interesting because on one hand I was part of the team which was working on the hijacking, on the other hand I was part of the family members who were pressing the government for the hijack. So actually I had a very unique window into the problem.”
On the Netflix series controvers, Jaishankar said, “Movie guys don’t make the government look good, then no one would look their movie. The hero is suppose to look good, not you. So I think you got to accept that.”
The minister is currently in Geneva for a two-day visit. Directed by Anubhav Sinha, the series has sparked controversy due to its “inaccurate” depiction of the 1999 hijacking of Indian Flight 814.
