The teaser of the movie of the month- IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack was released on Saturday and it yet again reminded India and the world why continuous crackdown against terrorism is paramount. Created by filmmaker Anubhav Sinha, IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack is set to make his OTT debut with the upcoming series. IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack will be available for streaming on Netflix starting on August 29, 2024. Talking about the characters' guide, IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack teaser features Vijay Varma as a pilot Sharan Dev, Pankaj Kapur, Naseeruddin Shah, and more in the leading roles. IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack is a true story based on the 1999 hijacking of an Indian aircraft by five Pakistani terrorists. While the story of IC 814's hijack might be known to all, the filmmaker will surely show some case some unexplored facts. Talking about facts, the question arises who is real-life Sharav Dev played by Vijay Varma in Netlix's IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack. Below is all about IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack True Story & Real Life Sharan Dev-
Who is real-life Pilot Sharan Dev?
As per reports, Vijay Varma plays the character of Indian Airlines pilot Sharan Dev who is a real-life person. Real-life Sharan Dev's character is named- Devi Sharan. The IC 814 aka Indian Airlines Flight 814 flight took off from Kathmandu and was headed to Delhi in 1999 and it was piloted by (then) 37-year-old Captain Devi Sharan and first officer Rajinder Kumar. Notably, IC 814 while it was on its way to Delhi was hijacked and taken to Kandahar in Afghanistan. The hijacking operation was said to have been backed by Pakistan's military intelligence, ISI.
The flight reportedly contained nearly 180 passengers. Captain Devi Sharan is currently a retired pilot of Air India. Devi Sharan also became author and penned a book named Flight Into Fear: The Captain's Story. The book was based on his experience of what he and the passengers faced during seven days of hijack.
Devi Sharan in 2023 in an interview narrated the ordeal of IC 814 hijacking. In an interview with a news portal, Devi Sharan narrated he saw a person with a monkey cap on, one hand grenade and one revolver in his hands when the flight reached 26,000 ft. "Immediately, I knew something was wrong," he said adding that hijackers were well-read about Indian aviation as they could recognise the call sign of then Indian Prime Minister's aircraft, which was in the vicinity.
Devi Saran revealed that the hijackers wanted to land the aircraft at Lahore but Sharan told them that it cannot go there. Then, one of them, asked which was the alternative airport and when Sharan told it was Mumbai, then the hijacker asked, "If you can go to Mumbai, then why can't you go to Lahore, which is closer to Delhi". "I could understand that making fool of them was very difficult because they knew a lot of things, using words of aviation," Sharan added.
Sharan also revealed that the hijackers wanted a "heroic death and crash into Pakistan territory". As per reports, Sharan was holding the aircraft for more than 24 hours.
What happened with IC 814?
For those who are unaware, an Indian aircraft IC 814 was hijacked on its way from Nepal to New Delhi in 1999 by a group of five masked Pakistani terrorists, who were members of the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM). They ordered the flight to be taken to multiple locations, and eventually to Kandahar, then controlled by the Taliban. The five Pakistani hijackers were identified as Ibrahim Athar, Shahid Akhtar Sayed, Sunny Ahmed Qazi, Mistri Zahoor Ibrahim, and Shakir. They succeeded in their plans and secured the release of terrorists Maulana Masood Azhar, Sheikh Omar, and Mushtaq Zargar in exchange for those onboard IC814. After the release of the jailed terrorists, Indian passengers returned home but one passenger died on board.