Beyond the Horror

As Hijack IC 814 opens with a dateline and the humming of christmas carols in the background, a sense of foreboding underlines the narrator8217;s monologue. We step anxiously into the cabin of the A 300, tailing a line of buoyant fliers, who nestle into their seats, dreaming of their New Year celebrations. Among them, honeymooner Ripon Katial, who was soon to become an unfortunate statistic in terror history.

Conceptualised, scripted and directed by Nikhil and Niret Alva of Miditech, the premise of the film takes off from a theory that8217;s found international approval8212;that IC 814 was a lab rat for 9/11. 8220;There were a lot of similarities between IC 814 and the plane that crashed into the WTC. The number of hijackers, the fact that the weapons used were primarily knives and box cutters and also that Kandahar was Osama bin Laden8217;s base at the time. It fits nicely into the global perspective,8221; says Nikhil, the scriptwriter and director of Hijack IC 814.

Already, much has been written about the attack that planted India firmly on the international line of terror and prompted a global debate on surrender policy. But this is not an expose or a rant about lapses in judgment. The Alvas were clear that the human experience was the hero of this tale. Seventy per cent of the film is fashioned from detailed accounts by the hostages, stewards and the captain. Like Arun Naithani, who speaks of the hours following the takeover, when the passengers had been shuffled around and blindfolded. Naithani was almost shot when he dared to remove his patch, to make sure his family was secure.

The intensity of the re-enactments is heightened with shadows and sharp editing. This is interspersed with file footage, PTCs by survivors, bytes from V S Mulekar airport director at Amritsar, J P Birdi of the Punjab police and even Brajesh Mishra, former national security advisor. Since most of the scenes take place in the cabin, Miditech felt it unnecessary to retrace the plane8217;s flight and shoot in Lahore and Kandahar. A request was forwarded to the Pakistani authorities for an official statement, but the director found no response.

For the crew at Miditech, researching the film was the challenging part because producers National Geographic Channel, demanded that all facts had to be backed by sources. Nikhil and Niret scanned through all the books that had been written on the topic to avoid duplication of material. They zeroed in on the idea of personal accounts that helped reconstruct the look of the cabin, the hijacker8217;s mannerisms and the dynamics between the passengers themselves. 8220;These are the stories that haven8217;t been told, or got lost in newsprint. We8217;ve focused on the fears and paranoia of the people on board,8221; adds Nikhil.

Dialogues in the film, the terrorists8217; demands and ultimatums were all transcribed from the Cockpit Voice Recorder with help from the pilots, who acted as consultants. The psychological thriller turns really morbid when at one point, the passengers are able to hear the hijackers on the loudspeakers. A group of men, including Katial, who is later executed, are separated from their families and held in the J class cabin as lambs to the slaughter. 8220;When we spoke to the passengers, many of them felt that their trauma had been forgotten. When they saw the film, it touched a deep emotional chord and their families were able to understand what they really went through,8221; says Nikhil.

The film takes no sides in its portrayal. It ends with a statement of fact about the release of Maulana Masood Azhar, Omar Sheikh and Maushtaq Ahmed Zargar in exchange for a plane full of civilians. But amidst footage of jubilant families and tears of joy, the film asks one pertinent question that haunts the viewer. If we knew then, what we know today, would we have done the same?

Hijack IC 814, will air nationally on September 18, National Geographic Channel.