IC 814 - The Kandahar Hijack - Soaring High

 IC 814 - The Kandahar Hijack

Hindi / Drama

Limited Series

6 episodes - ~ 42 mins

Netflix 

A limited series featuring Pankaj Kapur, Naseeruddin Shah, Kanwaljeet Singh, Aditya Shrivastava, Arvind Swamy, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Yashpal Sharma and Vijay Varma, supported by  Dia Mirza, Amrita Puri, Patralekha, Pooja Gaur,  demands a viewing on the strength of this cast alone! 

As one of the reviews on the internet  says, this is the "Acting Avengers!",  an apt tribute to the biggest acting ensemble we have witnessed in recent years.

Director Anubhav Sinha (Ra.One, Article 15, Thappad, Anek) uses material widely available on public domain and  Captain Dev Sharan's book "Flight into Fear" to create an extremely tight, well acted, apolitical, non jingoistic and mostly thrilling depiction of the tragic events of the IC 814 Hijacking 

A problem that Indian cinema/shows have in retelling such stories, as compared to more "accurate" depictions of incidents like 9/11, JFK, Lincoln's assassination is how much more information that the creators have access to and are allowed to present. There is always the scrutiny and the censorship/approvals that the makers have to go through, to ensure that the stories are presented without hurting any political or religious sensibilities.

We are shown the "what" and the "how" of the incident, the lapses in Intelligence, the delay in decision making, leading a viewer to introspect the strength of the bureaucratic decision making, at the time. Unfortunately, as a viewer looking for the "why", one may be a bit frustrated.  

The show dives right in, hurtling at breakneck speed across 6 episodes. The actors do a superb job in the limited time they get. For that alone i wish there were a couple more episodes to explore their chemistry. But full credit to the director for sticking to the story and not succumbing to this temptation.

Pankaj Kapur is pure class and grace - his dialogue and demeanour in the last few minutes are awe inspiring. Naseeruddin Shah is a little monotone, maybe the part he gets to play, though his three scenes with only Kapur are a treat! Arvind Swamy as DRS gets a solid part and he is smooth and extremely classy (wish we can see more of him in Hindi! - what a renaissance for the actor though). 

Kumud Mishra is ever dependable as the cherubic man with the tough interior. Manoj Pahwa is a scene stealer. His negotiation scenes are thrilling. His banter with Swamy is charming  (Chatte Batte , Tanta) and the "tea and coffee"dialogue is an internet meme waiting to happen. Vijay Varma (what a time to be him!) demonstrates restraint in a performance which is a  departure from his dialogue heavy roles. For the first half of his part, he is barely allowed to speak and uses only his face and eyes to convey emotional depth!

The female actors do their job in the limited time they get (not very different from the men). Patralekha has a really good scene with the hijackers. The plight of the passengers is shown on screen to only a limited extent . A more in depth  view of the trauma of the passengers would have added greater emotional depth to the series, but would have come at a cost of more run time as well as the need to make it very "filmy", which the series definitely tries to avoid. 

Technically this is an extremely good product. The VFX is very good. At no point do any of the airplane shots look under done. The score by Richard Harvey and Alex Lamy is pulsing, very 90's and keeps you on the edge. 

The cinematography by Ewan Mulligan and Ravi Kiran Ayyangiri is stunning. The shots inside the aircraft, lowlight scenes inside the jail, the close ups and moody lighting inside the offices, the wide shots of the  plane standing in Kandahar, top notch. There is a magical  one take  following the the Indian entourage driving into the air strip.  The editing is very good with the "real scenes" and "voice overs" interjecting at just the right times to provide additional context to the viewer. 

The show ends with the four negotiators (Swamy, Mishra, Bhattacharya and Pahwa) sharing a liquid from a flask, while watching the plane carrying the rescued take off . One of them says " We Won", the next says " Did We", he again says " We fought", the other says " Did We".  Could not have summed it any better!