170 people boarded the flight from Kathmandu to Delhi. It is a regular flight, like the planes we travel in. There are children, pregnant women, senior citizens – basically the majority of the people on board. General public We meet people every day who are struggling with problems in their lives, worried about their family or career or something else.

However, little did they know that this journey of less than two hours would take them more than a week and they would not even see the light of day.

It turned out that The longest kidnapping in the history of IndiaBringing this true story to screen as a series required great research and storytelling skills to keep the audience captivated for almost four hours. Thankfully, director Anubhav Sinha and his team, which comprises of an extremely talented ensemble cast, have woven a superbly interesting hostage drama that will keep you hooked till the end.

In my opinion, the biggest challenge came from Director: Anubhav Sinha, who has also produced the show with Trishant Srivastava. He also leads the writing team along with Srivastava, journalist Adrian Levy, and Saumya Tiwari. The research team, of course, did a great job of understanding the nuances of what might have happened around the kidnapping, as did the screenwriting team to make it into a 4-hour-long in-depth screenplay. However, bringing it all together and executing it in the final product must have been a tough job, which Sinha did expertly. He is an experienced director, and that comes in handy in the series.

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Sinha has also interspersed the story with actual footage of the events, which not only adds authenticity but also helps the audience connect with the story more deeply. In between, the government and decision-making bodies deliberate on what should be done about the situation. The series doesn’t pretend to not involve politics, which is impossible in a real-life kidnapping story, but it also doesn’t take a stand like Sinha does. After all, it is a true incident and he presents it as it is, but also manages to raise questions with subtlety (well, almost).

The last episode is what gives the series its dimension. It gives the audience the answer to what is right and what is wrong, and whether any decision was ever taken that could have been right. The conversations between Manoj Pahwa and Arvind Swamy’s characters form the crux of it. Did the decision makers and government officials win, fight or give their best? It is all up to the audience to decide.

Anubhav Sinha’s direction along with excellent editing, sharp dialogues and music set the pace of the film and create a sense of tension. And then, there is the commendable camerawork that captures the action in a confined space – inside the plane.

Not to forget that it has an extremely talented ensemble cast – from Vijay Varma to Naseeruddin Shah, Pankaj Kapur, Manoj Pahwa, Arvind Swami, Anupam Tripathi, Dia Mirza, Patralekhaa, Amrita Puri, Divyendu Bhattacharya, Kumud Mishra, just to name a few. Though not everyone gets much screen time, this perfectly synchronized cast gives their best at every moment.

Each performance elevates the storyline and the overall performance. The performances of Vijay Varma, Manoj Pahwa, Arvind Swami, Patralekhaa and Anupam Tripathi are noteworthy.

Verma plays the role of a captain and does justice to the role of a man responsible for the safety of the plane at gunpoint. He has portrayed the tension and dilemma very well.

Manoj Pahwa has given elements of dark humor to the conversation scene, it feels like if he was not there it could not have been so nuanced. Watching Anupam Tripathi do justice to Agent Ram, who tried his best to stop the kidnapping, was satisfying even as a viewer who enjoyed ‘Squid Games’ as much as anyone else.

The series also subtly comments on the grey areas of journalism. For journalists, deciding what is true and what is false, what information to withhold or reveal, becomes extremely challenging in the quest to get to the root of the story and bring the full truth to readers. When national security is at stake, it becomes important to determine when and how much truth should be revealed.

Overall, if you have a taste for hostage dramas and political stories, you will love ‘IC 814.’ Also, if you are looking for a well-made show that you want to watch seriously and not during your lunch break, then this might be what you are looking for.