Filmmaker Sudhir Mishra has defended Anubhav Sinha amid growing criticism of his series IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack. Responding to social media criticism accusing the show of a sympathetic portrayal of terrorists, Mishra strongly refuted claims that Sinha lacked patriotism.

Mishra told PTI“You will not find a more patriotic Indian than Anubhav Sinha. He is very patriotic, he grew up in Banaras and studied in Aligarh. He has grown up saying Ram Ram (He grew up saying Ram-Ram). It would be wrong to say bad things about him.’

Featuring a stellar cast including Vijay Varma, Pankaj Kapur, Naseeruddin Shah, Arvind Swami, Dia Mirza and Patralekhaa, the serial faced criticism for humanising the terrorists involved in the hijacking.

However, Mishra defended Sinha’s approach, saying that portraying villains as completely one-dimensional individuals would fail to strike a chord with the audience. “If you show a character as a villain and he just roars and screams, you won’t be able to recognise him in real life. The villain looks like a human being, but evil lurks beneath his skin. One must learn to recognise him,” Mishra said, stressing on the complexity of storytelling.

Based on real-life hijacking incidents, the serial narrates the harrowing experiences of the passengers and crew members and the challenges faced by the government. The flight was diverted to multiple locations Before they reached Taliban-controlled Kandahar in Afghanistan.

The kidnappers in the series are codenamed Chief, Doctor, Burger, Bhola and Shankar. However, the use of the names Bhola and Shankar sparked a major controversy, with critics targeting the series’ director Anubhav Sinha. They argue that the show should not have been shown in this way. Highlighted the fact that the hijackers were five Muslim terroristsAnd two of them used Hindu surnames.

The series is based on the book ‘Flight Into Fear: The Captain’s Story’ written by journalist Shrinjoy Chowdhury and the captain of the hijacked plane, Devi Sharan.

Starring Vijay Varma, Naseeruddin Shah, Pankaj Kapur, Manoj Pahwa, Arvind Swami, Anupam Tripathi, Dia Mirza, Patralekhaa, Amrita Puri, Divyendu Bhattacharya and Kumud Mishra, ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’ received heavy criticism as audiences and political leaders expressed their opinions on the portrayal of one of India’s worst aviation crises.