IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack Review Out: A Master Stroke Takes The Tale Brilliantly! ( Photo Credit – India )
IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack Review: Star Rating:
Cast: Naseeruddin Shah, Vijay Varma, Pankaj Kapur, Rajiv Thakur, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa and ensemble
Creator: Anubhav Sinha & Trishant Srivastava
Director: Anubhav Sinha & Trishant Srivastava
Streaming On: Netflix
Language: Hindi, English, Tamil & Telugu with English and Hindi subtitles
Runtime: 6 episodes of 40 minutes each
IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack Review Out ( Photo Credit – YouTube )
“Bandook lene ke baad yaad rakhna, jaan lene se pehle hazaar baar sochna lekin jaan bachane se pehle ek baar bhi nahi. Aaiye, chaliye, apne logon ki jaan bachate hain.” IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack gives the most powerful dialogue in its last episode, giving this web series one of the highest points. But this line comes in the last episode, the line by the Indian Government, that comes after 6 days of around 200 Indians held hostage by 5 terrorists.
The web series, as the name suggests, is about a plane hijack by a group of terrorists who capture an Indian flight flying from Kathmandu to New Delhi. Based on the real-life incident of the infamous Kandahar Hijack, the web series further delves into what happened in the next six days that followed the hijack. The demands, the deaths, the threats, the efforts, the struggles, the mistakes, the blame, the scapegoats, the coverage, the protest, the revolts, the psychological warfare, the personal trauma, and the loss of life all from the narrative of the web-series and in my honest opinion a very strong narrative.
IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack Review: What’s It About:
IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack retells the trauma of the 8 days that were lived by 200 passengers and crew of the flight. The dreadful date of December 24, 1999, still haunts those who were a part of this tragic and horrible event. The trauma still lives with all those who were a part of this mission. Those who were trapped and those who made sure to get everyone released safely.
The web series directed by Anubhav Sinha starts straight with the point – Why did the Indian government take 7 days to negotiate with the terrorists of the Kandahar hijack, and what happened in those seven days? The series gives an insightful take on how the last Christmas Eve of the millennium turned an unfateful clot in the history of Indian intelligence & security.
The story enters directly with the boarding of the passengers and the terrorists disguised as passengers. While there have been direct hints at who was involved, the series takes a brilliant turn as soon as the flight takes off. The series launches the very understandable government vs civilians struggle as soon as the hijack is announced. However, while it takes off smoothly, turbulence arrives as soon as the bunch of officers arrive in this web series.
IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack Review Out! ( Photo Credit – YouTube )
IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack Review: What Works:
This is interestingly the second hijack story we are witnessing from Bollywood after Sonam Kapoor’s Neerja directed by Ram Madhvani. But here’s the most basic difference between the two – while Neerja focussed on what happened inside, IC 814: The Kandahar Attack focusses on what happened outside. The struggle to devise a plan, to negotiate with the terrorists and the blame game all seems real in the story.
There comes a point when the top officers of the government seem divided on what needs to be done and what could be done. Some favor the efforts, others point out the failures, and the fight puts up a strong narrative about another struggle at the bureaucratic level.
There is a parallel track where Dia Mirza and Amrita Puri, as journalists, fight the ethics of what needs to be told and what needs to be concealed. Initially, this might seem an unnecessary deviation, but over the six episodes, it holds the narrative so strongly that it reminds us of the glaring mistakes the media made during the Mumbai Attack! In fact what should one hold and what should one report becomes a chapter one needs to learn!
IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack Review Out ( Photo Credit – YouTube )
IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack Review: Star Performance:
The team of officers consists of Manoj Pahwa, Arvind Swamy, Aditya Srivastava, Kumud Mishra, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Kanwaljeet, and Yashpal Sharma, led by Pankaj Kapoor & Naseeruddin Shah at the top position. All of them actually nail their parts, making this unfateful event look as real as it could be.
While these politicians and bureaucrats fight another war in Delhi, the web series keeps offering the backstories of all the events linked to the terrorist groups, political unrest in the country, India’s deteriorated International relations at that point, and the historical references about the neighboring countries and the economy of the state. In fact, the narration, despite delving into the key events of the history of the nation, is so simplistically narrated that one could easily know all and not feel burdened at all!
However, I could not take my eyes off Rajiv Thakur, the comedian who is a part of Kapil Sharma’s ensemble, playing the Chief terrorist who heads this hijack! We bet even you would feel a different energy watching him on screen and I so wish he does this more often
Even Ninad Kamat as the narrator holds the story very strongly with his telling the tale like a visual translation!
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IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack Review: What Doesn’t Work:
IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack does not fail in any aspect except the psychological part. You don’t feel the trauma of those trapped on the flight for seven days. Their desperation to walk free, their suffocation sitting in the flight, the efforts of the crew, played by Patralekhaa and Additi Gupta, and the pilot, Captain Sharan Dev, played by Vijay Verma, all play underwhelming parts in this grand tale. Probably because the story lost its balance on the emotional and planning parts. Or it was never intended to play on the emotions.
In fact, there is a scene where one of the hostesses tries cleaning a clogged toilet, but the scene goes unnoticed despite being a high point, emphasizing the trauma of the passengers and the crew alike.
The story also plays on the emotional side of the terrorists, which somehow goes way off after a certain point in time. Be it a terrorist, being extra attentive to the air hostess or trying to help the pilot unclog the toilet. There are instances that do not tick the moral dilemmas right!
IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack Review Out ( Photo Credit – YouTube )
IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack Review: Last Words:
Despite certain shortcomings, IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack shines bright. Finding the perfect balance between the real and the fictional is a very tough task, but Anubhav Sinha and his team succeeded. Moreover, using real footage from 1999 is an asset to this web series, which works brilliantly while it retells a dark day in the history of India. A dark week rather!
4 stars!
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The post IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack Review: Master Stroke Casting With Comedian Rajiv Thakur As Terrorist Up Stakes This Unfateful Yet Heroic Chapter Brilliantly! appeared first on Koimoi.