Authors
Vasudha noticed the growing problem of mis/disinformation online after studying New Media at ACJ in Chennai and became interested in separating facts from fiction. She is interested in learning how global issues affect individuals on a micro level. Before joining Newschecker’s English team, she was working with Latestly.
Ever since its song Besharam Rang was released, Pathaan, which managed to generate over Rs 100 crore worldwide on its first day, has been in the middle of controversies and attracted a series of misinformation. The trend continues even after its release. While several social media users shared videos claiming to show “negative public review” of the movie, others posted visuals of huge crowds and fully occupied theatres extending their support to the Shah Rukh Khan starrer.
Among these visuals, a video showing a shopping complex jam packed with people is also going viral with a claim to show the waiting line at Pentagon Mall, Haridwar for Pathaan’s first day first show.
Archived versions of such tweets can be seen here and here.
Additionally, a picture showing a fully occupied theatre is also doing the rounds on Twitter, with the caption, “This is not north India.. this is Trichy,Tamil Nadu.. People’s are waiting for #Pathaan… (sic)”
Archived versions of such tweets can be seen here and here.
Also Read: Viral Video Of Yogi Adityanath Asking People To Boycott SRK’s Film Pathan Is From 2015
Fact Check/Verification
Newschecker investigated the visuals one-by-one.
Visual 1
A Google reverse image search on the keyframes of the viral video led us to a report by Times Now, dated July 9, 2022 , titled ‘Huge crowds at Kerala’s Lulu malls during midnight sale’
Featuring snippets from the viral clip, the report stated, “videos of overcrowded Lulu malls in Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi have gone viral on social media. Scores of people rushed into the malls’ stores for a midnight shopping sale. The Lulu International Shopping Mall was open for the public starting from 11:59 PM on July 6 till the dawn of July 7. People were seen rushing into the store even before the doors opened completely. Balconies and escalators at the mall were fully packed.”
Following this, we looked up “Lulu Mall,” “Kerala,” & “sale” on YouTube yielded multiple videos carrying the same visuals of a jam packed shopping complex as seen in the viral clip. One such video was uploaded on the official YouTube channel of Hindustan Times on July 11, 2022.
A longer version of the viral clip was also uploaded by News18 Kerala on July 9, 2022 to show the crowd during mid-night sale at Lulu Mall in Thiruvananthapuram.
Visual 2
We looked up the viral photograph on Google lens which yielded a tweet by @BHELECcinemas, dated January 12, 2023 – Pathaan was released on January 25, 2023.
The tweet carried the viral picture with the caption, “#Varisu!.”
Additionally, in a tweet dated January 25, 2023, @BHELECcinemas clarified that Pathaan is not running in their theatre. We were not independently able to verify the same, however the photograph predates the release of Pathaan.
Conclusion
Viral video showing a massive crowd in a mall and a photograph of an almost fully-occupied theatre are not linked to Pathaan. Both the visuals predate the release of Shah Rukh Khan’s movie.
Result: False
Sources
Report By Times Now, Dated July 9, 2022
YouTube Video By Hindustan Times, Dated July 11, 2022
Tweet By @BHELECcinemas, Dated January 12, 2023
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Authors
Vasudha noticed the growing problem of mis/disinformation online after studying New Media at ACJ in Chennai and became interested in separating facts from fiction. She is interested in learning how global issues affect individuals on a micro level. Before joining Newschecker’s English team, she was working with Latestly.
