Dia Mirza Responds to Controversy Surrounding 'IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack' Series

Actor Dia Mirza recently addressed the controversy surrounding her latest show IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack, where she plays the role of a journalist. In an interview with Galatta Plus, she responded to objections over the use of aliases like ‘Bhola’ and ‘Shankar’ for terrorists in the series. The crime-thriller, directed by Anubhav Sinha, is based on real-life events from the 1999 hijacking of Indian Airlines flight IC 814.

Mirza emphasized that the series is rooted in factual events and that any concerns raised can be verified. "I think what matters is the intention. I don’t think the intention of the show is to cause any disharmony. That’s the most important thing. And that’s our truth. The second thing is that I think everything that is being questioned is verifiable, and factual. How do you debate that?" she stated.

The actor further highlighted that media professionals have backed the show due to its reliance on verified information. "Because they can verify the information," she added during the interview.

In IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack, Mirza plays Shalini, also known as Sha Chandra, who is the Editor of India Headlines. The show portrays the infamous hijacking incident when five men took control of flight IC 814 after it departed from Kathmandu. The aircraft made stops in Amritsar, Lahore, and Dubai, where 27 passengers were released in exchange for fuel, before finally landing in Kandahar, Afghanistan. The standoff with the hijackers lasted for a week.

The series also features a star-studded cast including Vijay Varma, Naseeruddin Shah, Pankaj Kapur, Arvind Swamy, Manoj Pahwa, Patralekha Paul, Kumud Mishra, Aditya Srivastava, Amrita Puri, and others in pivotal roles. IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack is currently available for streaming on Netflix.