Vijay Varma is set to portray the heroic Captain Devi Saran in the upcoming Netflix series ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack,’ a dramatisation of the harrowing 1999 hijacking incident. In a remarkable coincidence, Varma had the opportunity to meet the real-life Captain Saran during a flight simulation session on the sets of the series.

The encounter left a lasting impact on the actor, as Captain Saran shared his traumatic experiences and recounted the horrors of the fateful flight, providing Varma with a deeper understanding of the captain's bravery and resilience.

Speaking about his meeting with Captain Saran, Varma shared, "I had the opportunity to meet the real captain at the flight simulation centre where I was practising how to fly—or at least pretend like I could. Just when I was starting to feel a bit confident, Captain Sharan joined me and showed me the exact manoeuvres.”

The actor also reflected on how the captain had saved the flight from nearly crashing at the Lahore Airport. He said, “He described how low they were flying, to the point where he could read the street hoardings, making it seem like the plane could crash at any moment. But something inside him knew he could pull it off. Just sitting with him in the cockpit, watching him operate, gave me the insight I needed to hopefully recreate that magic on set."

About ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’:

Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Anubhav Sinha, the series will be available for streaming on Netflix from August 29. Apart from Varma, it will also feature an ensemble cast of brilliant actors including Pankaj Kapur, Naseeruddin Shah, Dia Mirza, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, and Arvind Swamy.

Recently, in an interview with News18, Sinha recalled how Kapur was the most difficult to cast for the series. Despite them having worked together in previous projects, Kapur’s initial response to being a part of the series was a no. Kapur didn’t get convinced for the role till the time he read 200 pages of the script which constituted six episodes.

‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’ is based on the real-life hijacking of the Indian Airlines’ flight on December 24, 1999.