Netflix India has assured the Centre on Tuesday that it will ensure that the content of its future projects will take into account the sentiments of the Indian public. The development came during a meeting between Netflix India content head Monika Shergill and Information and Broadcasting Secretary Sanjay Jaju amid a row over 'IC-814: The Kandahar Hijack'.
During the 40-minute meeting in New Delhi, Shergill was apprised of the sensitivity of handling such topics. A senior official said nobody has the right to play with the sentiments of the nation.
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Some of the viewers slammed to the 'humane' projection of the hijackers and the distortion of their real identities. Social media users have slammed the creator of IC-814: The Kandahar Hijack on X, with hastags like #BoycottNetflix and #BoycottBollywood.
"Nobody has the right to play with the sentiments of the people of this nation. Indian culture and civilisation should always be respected," another official source told PTI. "You may be liberal, but you cannot portray institutions in a wrong manner."
This comes in the backdrop of a public interest litigation (PIL) was filed by the Hindu Sena in the Delhi High Court. Its president Surjit Singh Yadav urged the court to direct the Centre and the Maharashtra government to revoke the censor board certificate for IC-814: The Kandahar Hijack and ban it on Netflix.
The PIL claimed the Netflix web series wrongly portrays the terrorists as Hindus, giving them names like Bhola and Shankar, which are the names of Lord Shiva. The petitioner also alleged that this has hurt Hindu sentiments, requesting the court to interfere to prevent misunderstanding and harm.
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The Netflix show, directed by Anubhav Sinha, is written by Adrian Levy and Trishant Srivastava. The cast includes Naseeruddin Shah, Pankaj Kapur, Vijay Varma, Dia Mirza and Arvind Swamy.
Responding to the allegations, casting director Mukesh Chhabra had earlier said the makers of the show carried out proper research and the terrorists had actually used nicknames to address each other during the 1999 hijacking.
