A three-month old video of actor Amitabh Bachchan lauding health officials of Nanavati Hospital has gone viral with captions claiming it to be the actor's recent message after he tested positive for COVID-19 and was admitted to the hospital on July 11, 2020.
BOOM confirmed from various sources that the message was recorded in April 2020, few weeks after the nationwide lockdown was announced. We also found the video uploaded on YouTube as early as April 23, 2020.
The viral clip took social media with a storm barely few hours after the superstar and his actor-son Abhishek Bachchan tested positive for COVID-19 on July 11. The 77-year-old thespian and his son were admitted to Nanavati hospital in Mumbai after they displayed mild symptoms for the virus.
Mumbai has reported over 90,000 COVID-19 thousand cases and 1,308 cases were reported on July 11 alone.
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The 2:36-long-clip shows Bachchan lauding the doctors, nurses and other staff at Nanavati hospital for their diligent work in 'these trying times'. He also thanks them for looking after him every time he had reached out to the hospital with health implications. Nowhere in the video does the actor speak about him having tested COVID-19 positive.
The viral video has been shared on Facebook with Hindi captions which translate to 'Amitabh Bachchan admitted in Nanavati Hospital after testing positive for Corona. In his message from the hospital the actor has appealed to the people to stay optimistic. He called health workers and doctors God's form'.
(Hindi: अमिताभ बच्चन कोरोना पॉजिटिव होने के बाद नानावती हॉस्पिटल में भर्ती हुए,उन्होंने वहां से लोगों को सकारात्मक रहने का संदेश दिया।स्वास्थ्य कर्मियों और डॉक्टरों को भगवान का रूप बताया।)
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Rediff journalist Sheela Bhatt also posted the same video on Twitter without a caption. To a tweet asking when was the video shot, Bhatt replied with 'recent past' without mentioning the actual date.
— Sheela Bhatt (@sheela2010) July 12, 2020
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Fact Check
BOOM performed a reverse image search on one of the key frames of the video and found that the same clip had been uploaded on YouTube on April 23 this year with a Hindi caption which translates to 'Amitabh Bachchan praises Corona Warriors, says God is working in white coats in hospitals'.
(Hindi: अमिताभ बच्चन ने की कॉरोना वरियर्स की तारीफ़ कहां सफेद कोट में भगवान अस्पताल में काम कर रहे हैं)
The Amitabh Bachchan video was uploaded on Youtube on April 23, 2020.
At the time stamp 0:26 minute in the video, Bachchan speaks about a billboard in Surat that he saw on Twitter. The billboard had compared doctors and front line workers to God further reasoning why temples are shut.
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Using relevant key words, BOOM found an article published in Gujarati web portal Divya Bhaskar on April 23, which mentions Bachchan commending the Surat billboard.
BOOM also contacted Nanavati Hospital to get more information about the video. On condition of anonymity, a source in the hospital told us that the video was old.
"He was earlier admitted to the hospital in October 2019. In March- April, we decided to do this video. The hospital did not publicize it since Bachchan said he would post it on his social media," the source told BOOM.
Later in the day, Nanavati Hospital issued a statement clarifying that the video was shot in April 2020 to motivate the frontline workers at the hospital.
Another source close to the actor confirmed to BOOM that the video was shot earlier and has nothing to do with Bachchan being admitted to the hospital on July 11.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope has said to the media that the father-son duo had tested positive through antigen testing. They are exhibiting mild symptoms and have decided to be admitted as precautionary measures.
On July 12, Abhishek tweeted that his wife Aishwarya and daughter Aaradhya had also tested positive for COVID-19. They had chosen to self-isolate at their residence and have informed the civic authorities.
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