Anubhav Sinha‘s much-awaited series based on ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’ will premiere on the OTT platform today, August 29. Recently, the filmmaker shared anecdotes that he had gathered about the infamous incident from the late 1990s, as they discussed the show in a roundtable conversation featuring other cast members.
In the show, Anubhav Sinha shared that during his conversations with Captain Devi Sharan, the pilot of the hijacked IC 814 flight, he learned that the pilot’s greatest moment of relief was landing the aircraft in Amritsar.However, his deepest moment of dejection came when he was forced to take off from Amritsar after 45 minutes.
Anubhav also noted that the pilot still bears a mark on his neck from the gun that the hijackers pressed against him for so long that it left a lasting scar.
Anubhav Sinha also learned that the pilot flew at an altitude of just 150-200 feet from Amritsar to Lahore because the plane had nearly run out of fuel. Recalling the situation, he added that it was a short 10-minute flight, but the aircraft didn’t have enough fuel to gain altitude. The pilot even threatened to land on a highway, which finally prompted the Lahore authorities to give permission to land on Pakistani soil.
Sinha recounted asking the pilot what was going through his mind when he decided to threaten landing on the highway. The pilot responded that he was prepared to land in hopes that at least some passengers would survive, but he also believed that this threat might persuade the Lahore authorities to allow them to land at the airport.
For the unversed, the week-long IC 814 hijacking in December 1999 paralyzed the nation. Terrorists seized the plane shortly after it departed from Kathmandu, Nepal. The aircraft first landed in Amritsar, then in Lahore, before making stops in Dubai and finally Kandahar, where negotiations occurred. The ordeal ended with the hostages being freed in exchange for three high-profile terrorists after a tense standoff in Afghanistan.
In the show, Anubhav Sinha shared that during his conversations with Captain Devi Sharan, the pilot of the hijacked IC 814 flight, he learned that the pilot’s greatest moment of relief was landing the aircraft in Amritsar.However, his deepest moment of dejection came when he was forced to take off from Amritsar after 45 minutes.
Anubhav also noted that the pilot still bears a mark on his neck from the gun that the hijackers pressed against him for so long that it left a lasting scar.
Anubhav Sinha also learned that the pilot flew at an altitude of just 150-200 feet from Amritsar to Lahore because the plane had nearly run out of fuel. Recalling the situation, he added that it was a short 10-minute flight, but the aircraft didn’t have enough fuel to gain altitude. The pilot even threatened to land on a highway, which finally prompted the Lahore authorities to give permission to land on Pakistani soil.
Sinha recounted asking the pilot what was going through his mind when he decided to threaten landing on the highway. The pilot responded that he was prepared to land in hopes that at least some passengers would survive, but he also believed that this threat might persuade the Lahore authorities to allow them to land at the airport.
For the unversed, the week-long IC 814 hijacking in December 1999 paralyzed the nation. Terrorists seized the plane shortly after it departed from Kathmandu, Nepal. The aircraft first landed in Amritsar, then in Lahore, before making stops in Dubai and finally Kandahar, where negotiations occurred. The ordeal ended with the hostages being freed in exchange for three high-profile terrorists after a tense standoff in Afghanistan.
