A video showing people being beaten by police while in a semi-clad state is viral on social media. Several users are sharing it with the claim that it depicts police brutality against Dalits in public.
However, BOOM found that the viral footage is originally from a shooting of a Kannada film Deadly Soma Part 2, which took place in April 2025.
The Claim
A user on Instagram (archive link) shared the video with a Hindi caption that translates to: "The Bhimta gang, which had threatened Manuvadis on Instagram, was dealt with today." The same video is also going viral on Facebook, with the same claim.
What we found
1.The video is from the set of a Kannada film shoot
We ran a reverse image search using Google Lens on the key frames from the viral video. This led us to a YouTube channel called Kannada Pichhar, which had shared the video on April 15, 2025. The title states that the footage is from the shooting of the movie Deadly Soma 2.
Several other videos related to the filming of Deadly Soma 2 have also been posted on both the YouTube channel and Instagram account of Kannada Pichhar.
2. Verified geolocation on Google Maps.
Using visual cues from the video, we searched the location on Google Maps and identified it as the City Market area in Bengaluru.
3. Deadly Soma 2 is directed by Ravi Srivatsa
Ravi Srivatsa, a writer and director from the Kannada film industry, is directing the sequel to the film Deadly Soma.
According to a report by News18 Kannada published on April 16, 2025, the film explores the modern underworld and focuses on the use of technology in criminal activities. Deadly Soma released in 2005.
Additional details about the film are available on the website of Kannada Filmi Beat. A video report by News 26 Kannada also shows visuals from the viral video, confirming that it was taken during the film’s shooting.