Anubhav Sinha: ‘Halfway into proposing the role, Naseer said yes’

Getting acting heavyweights like Pankaj Kapur, Naseeruddin Shah, Arvind Swami, Manoj Pahwa and Kumud Mishra in one room can be an uphill task. Anubhav Sinha is surprised that the stellar cast— which includes Vijay Varma , Dia Mirza and Patralekha—has come together for his maiden series, IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack. The upcoming thriller traces the 1999 hijacking of the Indian Airlines Flight 814, in which a group of militants hijacked the Delhi-bound aircraft carrying 173 passengers and flew to several locations before landing in Kandahar.

ADVERTISEMENT Sinha knew his working relationship with Kapur, developed on Dus (2005) and Bheed (2023), would give him an advantage. “Pankaj bhai said, ‘Main nahin karunga,’ but I knew he would,” says the filmmaker, who has co-created, co-written and directed the thriller. Despite his faith in the material, Sinha was skeptical about getting the nod from Shah and Swami.

He was pleasantly surprised on both occasions. “I had thought it would be difficult to cast Naseer bhai because he does less work and is more interested in doing theatre. I was halfway into proposing the role to him, and he said yes.

As for Arvind, we got on a conference call, and he said, ‘Okay.’ But I was [still unsure] whether he was doing it. But how do you ask [again] if the person has said okay?” he laughs.

Varma, who plays the pilot flying the ill-fated aircraft, also said yes more easily than Sinha had assumed. The director recalls, “When he left.