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.
Despite virtual and physical protests calling for its boycott and demanding a ban, Yash Raj Films’ Pathaan hit the theatres on January 25. Soon after, social media started to flood with several videos featuring people criticising movies, and a few even calling out Shah Rukh Khan for making a “disaster.” Those who shared such videos claimed that they show the “public review of Pathaan,”declaring the movie a “flop,” despite its bumper opening at the box office.
A video showing a man asking viewers to “not watch this movie even at gunpoint,” is going viral to show the public’s response to Pathaan.
Archived versions of such tweets can be seen here and here.
Another video of “disappointed” viewers is being shared claiming to show the “real review” of the movie.
Archived versions of such tweets can be seen here and here.
Several others shared a video showing a man lashing out at a movie’s makers linking it to the Deepika Padukone starrer.
Archived versions of such tweets can be seen here and here.
Twitter users also posted a video claiming to show people calling Pathaan a “Bakwas movie.”
Archived versions of such tweets can be seen here and here.
Also Read: PM Modi Watching Pathaan’s Trailer? No, Viral Video Is Edited Digitally
Fact Check/Verification
Newschecker attempted to ascertain the facts about the videos one-by-one.
Video 1
On analysing the viral footage we spotted the watermark on “Viral Bollywood” on the top left corner. Additionally, we noticed that the man featured in the video speaks about “Shah Rukh Khan,” and “Imtiaz Ali.” Notably, Khan and Ali had worked together in the 2017 movie Jab Harry Met Sejal.
Taking a clue, we looked up keywords “Viral Bollywood, “Jab Harry Met Sejal,” & “Review” on YouTube which led us to a video, dated August 4, 2017, titled ‘This Is The Worst Movie On The Planet | Jab Harry Met Sejal Movie Review.’
Around a minute into the video, we spotted the footage of a man dressed in black shirt that is being shared with a claim to show public’s response to Pathaan.
Viralbollywood had uploaded a shorter version of the video on the same day with the title ‘Jab Harry Met Sejal Movie Review | Shahrukh Khan.’
Video 2
We noticed the watermark of FilmiFever on the top left corner of the screen, in addition to a poster of the Shah Rukh Khan-Anushka Sharma-starrer Zero in one of the frames in the viral clip.
Taking a clue, we conducted a search for “FilmiFever,” “Zero,” & “Review” on YouTube which yielded a video uploaded on the official channel of FilmiFever on December 22, 2018.
It carried a longer version of the viral clip with the caption, “ZERO | Most Angry Review | Shahrukh Khan, Katrina Kaif, Anushka Sharma | Anand L Rai”
The viral footage was also featured in a compilation of public reviews of Zero, uploaded by FilmiFever on December 21, 2018.
Video 3
The man featured in the viral clip can be heard saying, “Hello and welcome to the Bollywoodwallah,” at the start of the video. Taking a clue, we looked up “Bollywoodwallah” on YouTube and found a channel dedicated to Bollywood related content, including movie reviews.
We found that the man featured in videos by Bollywoodwallah and the viral clip to be the same.
Following this, we skimmed through various reviews in which the man is seen in the same attire as in the viral clip, and found a video uploaded on March 11, 2021, titled ‘Roohi review by Sonup – Hit or Flop?‘
On analysing the YouTube video we could conclude that the viral clip has been edited out of the review of film Roohi by Bollywoodwallah, and does not show the anchor criticising Pathaan.
Video 4
We scanned through the comment sections of the post carrying the video, and found a reply by @sandheliya to a tweet by @Sharmaharishji. It featured a screengrab from a public review video of Brahmastra uploaded on YouTube channel of FilmiFever.
Following this, we looked up “FilmiFever,” “Brahmastra,” & “review” on YouTube which threw up a video dated September 9, 2022.
Around 3:15 minutes in the video titled ‘Brahmastra PUBLIC REVIEW at Gaiety Galaxy | Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt | Aayan Mukerji | 2D,’ we spotted the viral clip claiming to show the audience’s reaction to Pathaan.
Conclusion
We could thus conclude that old and unrelated videos featuring public reviews of Bollywood movies are being shared to falsely show the audience’s negative reaction to Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan.
Result: False
Sources
YouTube Video By Viralbollywood, Dated August 4, 2017
YouTube Video By FilmiFever, Dated December 22, 2018
YouTube Videos By Bollywoodwallah, Dated March 11, 2021
YouTube Video By FilmiFever, Dated September 9, 2022
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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.
