Diksha Sundriyal
In Netflix’s ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack,’ a short flight from Kathmandu to Delhi turns into an 8-day nightmare when it is hijacked by five terrorists. While the captain tries to figure out a way to land the plane safely and keep it afloat to make sure they don’t crash and burn, it falls on the crew to take care of the passengers and make sure that they don’t panic and make the situation even worse than it already is. Two air hostesses, Indrani and Chhaya, appear at the forefront of this battle, handling the situation while also trying not to panic. They have to face all sorts of problems with the frustrated passengers and the dangerous hijackers. The show presents the real struggle of the flight crew quite accurately, showing the audience the difficult nature of their job, exacerbated by the hijacking. SPOILERS AHEAD
Indrani and Chhaya Represent the Real Crew of IC 814
In telling the true story of IC 814’s hijacking in December 1999, the creators of the Netflix show have taken a few liberties to keep the narrative engaging without losing the core of the story. In the show, the crew consists of fewer people than it was in real life. The actual IC 814 had six air hostesses on its crew: Tara Debnath, Rajini Chandrasekhar, Kobita Mukherjee, Sapna Menon, Kalpana Majumdar and Sabita Khail Kho. The show merges their characters to present their side of the story from the perspective of Indrani and Chhaya. This keeps the cast from getting crowded while also serving the purpose of the story. Thus, Indrani and Chhaya are composites of the real-life air hostesses who spent eight days on IC 814, tending to the passengers and trying to keep them calm and composed.
Since the hijacking, the women receded from the limelight, preferring not to talk about the experience more than they need to. Following the rescue, they were thoroughly interviewed by intelligence agencies as well as news channels, all of whom wanted to know every bit of what happened on the plane in the eight days. Rajini Chandrasekhar talked about the instance when the hijackers told them to get ready to die. At one point, they were all blindfolded and were told to remember their gods because the hijackers threatened to kill them.
Tara Debnath cried daily for her 2-and-a-half-year-old daughter, thinking that she would never see her again. When they were rescued, she considered it a “rebirth,” a second chance at life. Believing that she was going to die too, Rajini cried, thinking about her 5-year-old daughter Neha, who was at home waiting for her. When she got back home, her father noted that she had been made stronger by the experience. He remarked that she handled the situation “very bravely and tactfully” and helped keep the passengers safe and sound. Sabita Khail Kho also talked about feeling stronger, having survived the trauma of the hijacking, and learning to be more careful about everything in the future, especially the passengers.
In the aftermath of the hijacking, the entire crew celebrated their safe return with each other and their families. While they were shaken by the experience, it did not deter them from returning to their jobs. They had a reunion on the first anniversary of the hijacking with the rest of the crew, where they celebrated their survival and their strength in the face of insurmountable odds. Acknowledging their dedication to their job and their efforts to keep everyone safe in such a high-pressure situation, the Ministry of Civil Aviation recognized the women on Women’s Day in 2011, where their roles in civil aviation were highlighted. Apart from this, the women have chosen to stay out of the limelight and have preferred to lead a private and peaceful life.
Read More: Sharan Dev: Where is IC 814 Captain Devi Sharan Now?
