Netflix recently released the trailer of one of its most ambitious shows, IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack that showcases the journey of one of the most terrifying hijack missions ever to be executed and more so, the longest one, which went on to last over seven days worth of time.
And leading the star-studded show is none other than Vijay Varma. The man, who continues to be a Netflix project regular plays the role of Captain Devi Charan, the pilot in charge when the hijack took place. One would assume that given how particular Varma is with his preparation for the character, he would have gone through intensive training to play the role of a pilot.
He did and opening about the overwhelming experience, Varma said, “I was set to be in flight simulation training. And on my first day, when I entered the space, I was overwhelmed completely. There are like 50,000 buttons and to be quick and have the presence of mind along with intelligence to know what to hit when while not just flying a plane but in times of distress was something that took me a while. In fact, the first 7 to 8 times, I kept doing crash landing – that was so scary.”
He added, “The real Captain Devi Charan finally came in after I did 6 to 7 classes of the simulation training and fortunately, on that day, I was able to land the plane well. It is a very long process to learn. I heard his experiences and tried to amalgamate them into my training and playing the role. It was very tough. Wearing this uniform is like wearing responsibility. It is very ritualistic.”
IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack streams on Netflix, 29th August 2024 onwards.
