Anubhav Sinha responds to backlash over IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack controversy: 'Ek taraf mohabbat hai, aur ek taraf gobar hai'

Filmmaker Anubhav Sinha recently spoke about the controversy surrounding his Netflix series IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack. Some viewers were upset that the show used code names, like Bhola and Shankar, for the terrorists who hijacked an Indian Airlines flight in 1999, instead of their real names.
Speaking to casting director Mukesh Chhabra, Sinha touched upon the mixed reactions to the show.He acknowledged the backlash but also noted the positive feedback. He said, “It’s confusing. Ek taraf mohabbat hai, aur ek taraf gobar hai (On one side there is a lot of love, and on the other, there is crap).”
When asked if he felt responsible for the negativity, Sinha responded, “No, I don’t take myself that seriously. I just want to do my job with absolute sincerity and hard work. I wouldn’t have taken this on had I not been in love with the story. I loved it, that’s why I did it. All that remains is hard work, and the rest is up to the universe. The universe is both destructive and constructive.”

IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack premiered on Netflix in August and received positive reviews, but the controversy escalated after a journalist raised the issue during a success meet with the cast and crew. Sinha deflected the question and asked the journalist if they had watched the series in full before forming an opinion.

The issue prompted a response from the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, which summoned a Netflix executive for clarification. As a result, Netflix agreed to add a disclaimer before each episode, clarifying the real names of the hijackers. Additionally, a video discussion featuring actor Vijay Varma and Captain Devi Sharan, the pilot of the hijacked flight, was released, identifying the hijackers by both their real and assumed names.