India
‘My father was on the flight’: Jaishankar opens up about 1984 Air India hijacking | India News – Times of India
NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday broke his silence on the recent controversy surrounding the Netflix series ‘IC 814 The Kandahar Hijack’ and recalled another hijacking story from 1984 in which his father was on board the plane.
Jaishankar, who addressed the Indian people in Genevasaid he has not seen the series, but added that the “filmmakers do not portray the government in a better light.”
Recalling another Air India hijacking incident, Jaishankar said: “In 1984, there was a hijacking. I was a very young officer and part of the team that dealt with it. My son was a few months old and my wife was working. So it was my day to go home and give him lunch.”
“So I called my mother to tell her and she said, ‘Look, I can’t come, there’s a hijacking.’ Then I found out that my father was on the plane,” Jaishankar added.
Talking about what goes on behind the scenes in the government chambers, Jaishankar said: “Luckily no one was killed, but it could have gone wrong. And it was interesting because on the one hand I was part of the team that worked on the hijacking and on the other hand I was part of the family members who were pressuring the government to carry out the hijacking. So I actually had a very unique insight into the problem.”
On the Netflix series line, Jaishankar said, “Film people don’t make the government look good, otherwise no one would watch their film. The hero has to look good, not you. So I think you have to accept that.”
The minister is on a two-day visit to Geneva.
The series, directed by Anubhav Sinha, created a stir for its “inaccurate” portrayal of the hijacking of Indian Flight 814 in 1999.
Jaishankar, who addressed the Indian people in Genevasaid he has not seen the series, but added that the “filmmakers do not portray the government in a better light.”
Recalling another Air India hijacking incident, Jaishankar said: “In 1984, there was a hijacking. I was a very young officer and part of the team that dealt with it. My son was a few months old and my wife was working. So it was my day to go home and give him lunch.”
“So I called my mother to tell her and she said, ‘Look, I can’t come, there’s a hijacking.’ Then I found out that my father was on the plane,” Jaishankar added.
Talking about what goes on behind the scenes in the government chambers, Jaishankar said: “Luckily no one was killed, but it could have gone wrong. And it was interesting because on the one hand I was part of the team that worked on the hijacking and on the other hand I was part of the family members who were pressuring the government to carry out the hijacking. So I actually had a very unique insight into the problem.”
On the Netflix series line, Jaishankar said, “Film people don’t make the government look good, otherwise no one would watch their film. The hero has to look good, not you. So I think you have to accept that.”
The minister is on a two-day visit to Geneva.
The series, directed by Anubhav Sinha, created a stir for its “inaccurate” portrayal of the hijacking of Indian Flight 814 in 1999.
