Rupin Katyal: The Heartbreaking Story Behind The Kandahar Hijack

IC 814 The Kandahar Hijack Who Is Rupin Katyal: Bollywood has always been fascinated by real-life stories and true events that capture public interest. Films like Neerja, Maidaan, Kesari, Border, and PadMan have explored this genre over the years. Now, Anubhav Sinha is making headlines with his upcoming release IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack, set to release on August 29.

The film IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack is based on the hijacking of an Indian Airlines flight in 1999. This flight was travelling from Kathmandu to New Delhi when it was hijacked. It became the longest hijacking incident ever, lasting seven days. The plane landed in Kandahar, Afghanistan, where it came under Taliban control. Reports suggest that the hijackers aimed to secure the release of Islamist terrorists Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and Masood Azhar, along with militant Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar.

During the hijacking incident, Rupin Katyal was the only casualty. He was brutally murdered by Zahoor Mistry using a sharp instrument that was stabbed into his chest. Rupin and his wife Rachna were returning to Delhi after their honeymoon in Kathmandu. His death was reportedly intended to pressure the Indian government.

The airlines were hijacked by five militants, each with a unique nickname: Ibrahim Athar of Bahawalpur (Chief), Sunny Ahmed Qazi of Defence Area (Burger), Shahid Akhtar Sayed of Gulshan Iqbal area in Karachi (Doctor), Mistry Zahoor Ibrahim of Akhtar Colony (Bhola), and Shaqir from Sukkur (Shankar). Mistry Zahoor Ibrahim was responsible for killing Rupin Katyal and was later gunned down in Karachi in 2022 by an unknown assailant.

IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack Cast

Anubhav Sinha directs IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack featuring Vijay Varma as pilot Devi Sharan. Patralekha plays flight attendant Indrani, while Dia Mirza portrays newspaper editor Shalini Chandra. Other cast members include Pankaj Kapur, Naseerudin Shah, Manoj Pahwa, Kumud Mishra, Arvind Swami, Anupam Tripathi, Amrita Puri, Kanwaljeet Singh, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Sushant Singh, Aditya Srivastava, Rajeev Thakur, and Yashpal Sharma.

This film delves into a significant event in Indian history and aims to bring the story to a wider audience through its cinematic portrayal.