‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’ is a Netflix series directed by Anubhav Sinha and Trishant Srivastava. The show is about the 1999 hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814. With a strong cast, the series tells the story from different angles, including the brave plane crew, politicians, intelligence agents, and even international groups. It is based on the book ‘Flight Into Fear’ by Captain Devi Sharan and Srinjoy Chowdhury, and it tries to make the audience feel like they are on the flight from Kathmandu to Kandahar.
Where was “IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack” filmed?
Filming for the series took place mainly in two places: Mumbai, India, and Jordan. The shooting started in May 2023 and finished by the end of the same year. Many scenes were shot inside a plane set, which made things difficult for the cast and crew. The set was crowded, and because they had to turn off the air conditioning to avoid noise, the place got very hot and uncomfortable. Director Anubhav Sinha and actress Patralekhaa Paul even fell sick due to the tough conditions. “It took me over a week to recover,” Patralekhaa shared in an interview. “Sinha sir also had a fever, but we kept going. It felt very real, like being in a real hijack situation.”
Mumbai, India
Mumbai, known as the hub of Bollywood, was the main place where they filmed the series. The inside of the plane was built in a studio here. Even though the story shows various important locations like Kathmandu, Karachi, Amritsar, Dubai, and Kandahar, all the inside scenes were shot in the Mumbai studio. Most of the outside scenes, showing places as they looked in 1999, were created using visual effects. Director Sinha praised his visual effects team on Instagram, saying, “How did the 1999 airports come to life? How did the plane fly and land? It’s all magic by our talented VFX team.”
The studio used green screens and special lighting to create the right background for the scenes. Actor Vijay Varma, who played a key role, said, “While shooting, I mostly saw a green screen, so I was very curious to see how it would look in the final show. The screenplay was amazing, with scenes inside the cockpit with me, and the aircraft with Patralekhaa, 180 passengers, and the crew. There was a whole world I couldn’t see on the set.”
Jordan
The production team also traveled to Jordan to film the intense scenes where the plane finally lands. The airport shown in the series as Kandahar is actually an airport in Jordan. The real Kandahar airport in Afghanistan is once again under Taliban control, just like in 1999, so the crew chose to use a safer airport in Jordan.
However, filming in Jordan had its own risks because the location was near the Israeli border, where tensions were rising. Director Sinha remembered, “Sometimes we got sudden instructions not to shoot in a certain direction or had to stop shooting for a couple of hours, and we didn’t know why because it was a high-security area.” The dry landscapes of Jordan are often used in movies to represent Middle Eastern locations, Afghanistan, and even otherworldly places. Some of these films include ‘The Goat Life’ with Prithviraj Sukumaran, ‘Marmalade,’ ‘Zero Dark Thirty,’ ‘The Hurt Locker,’ ‘Holy Spider,’ and ‘Killer Elite.’
Official Trailer
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) – IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack
Q: Where was ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’ filmed?
A: The series was filmed primarily in Mumbai, India, and Jordan. The interior scenes of the plane were shot in a studio in Mumbai, while the final landing scenes were filmed at an airport in Jordan.
Q: When was ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’ filmed?
A: Filming for the series began in May 2023 and was completed by the winter of the same year.
Q: What is the release date of ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’?
A: IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack was released on August 29, 2024 on Netflix.
Q: Who are the main cast members of ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’?
A: The series features a star-studded cast including Patralekhaa Paul and Vijay Varma in lead roles. Other cast members include experienced actors who portray various important characters involved in the hijacking incident.
Q: What is ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’ about?
A: The series is based on the 1999 hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814. It tells the story from multiple perspectives, including the plane crew, politicians, intelligence agents, and international groups, bringing to life the real events that occurred during the hijacking.
