Authors
Vaibhav is a part of Newschecker’s English team, where he spots and debunks all kinds of misinformation, making the rounds on the internet. A Journalism graduate from St. Xavier's College, Mumbai, he holds an M.A degree in Philosophy and an M.Phil from Delhi University.
(This article was originally published by Newschecker Hindi by Saurabh Pandey)
A video of a man singing an old hindi song accompanied by an orchestra called ‘Na kisi ki aankh ka noor hoon’ from the film Laal Quila (1960) originally sung by Mohd. Rafi is going viral on social media along with the claim that the singer is from Kenya. Newschecker found this claim to be untrue.
The video has been posted on Facebook by user Pramod S Sharma along with the caption ‘This African Singer is from Kenya. He is a Black Kenyan. Just close your eyes and listen to his voice. Just Amazing’.
Newschecker found similar claims on Facebook with similar captions.
Several readers of Newschecker also requested our official WhatsApp helpline number (9999499044).
Fact Check /Verification
We started our investigation by conducting a keyword search with the words used in the caption- “This African Singer is from Kenya. He is a Black Kenyan. Just close your eyes and listen to his voice” on Google.
Newschecker found the same video posted on Youtube channel anurranga jaisalmer in March 2018 with the same caption.
On analysing the comment section of the video, Newschecker found a comment by user Bali Brahmbhatt, who pointed out the name of the singer Sanjay Sawant. We noticed that several other users had also pointed out the same.
Upon conducting a keyword search with the words “Sanjay Sawant” and “Na kisi ki aankh ka noor hoon” on Google, Newschecker found the original version of the video uploaded by channel named Jagruti Films on 9th January, 2021 along with the title ‘Na Kisi Ki Aankh Ka Noor Hoon – Rafi – Laal Quila 1960 – Old Hindi Songs – Old Songs Hits Hindi’.
Upon checking the comments section of the video, Newschecker found a comment by user Arun Mishra seeking to know the identity of the singer, to which the channel responded by clarifying that the singer is Sanjay Sawant.
Newschecker further reached the channel Jagruti films based on the contact information that was available on the page, who confirmed to us that the singer was indeed Sanjay Sawant. Speaking to Newschecker, Sittu Kumar from Bhuj based Jagruti Films said that the video is from an event that was organised in Ahmedabad in 2014, called ‘Sangeet Sandhya’, where singers congregate to sing old film songs for the audience.
Upon further investigation, Newschecker found the official Facebook page of Sanjay Sawant, and found posts featuring the same man seen in the viral video. “Sanjay has been in the singing profession for more than 20 Years. Sanjay has performed as a lead singer in over 1500 live concerts, both in India and abroad … His remixed music album called ODHANI UDH UDH JAYE (BABY BOX MIX) was launched by SaReGaMa in 2004…,” the bio of the page reads.
Conclusion
Newschecker’s investigation reveals that the viral video of a singer singing ‘Na kisi ki aankh ka noor hoon’ claiming that the singer is Kenyan is false. The singer who sang the song is Sanjay Sawant and not a Kenyan singer.
Result: False
Our sources
YouTube video published by Jagruti Films on 9 June, 2021
Telephonic conversation with Jagruti Films
Sanjay Sawant Facebook page
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Authors
Vaibhav is a part of Newschecker’s English team, where he spots and debunks all kinds of misinformation, making the rounds on the internet. A Journalism graduate from St. Xavier's College, Mumbai, he holds an M.A degree in Philosophy and an M.Phil from Delhi University.
