A video from 2019 when celebrities and politicians including Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackery attended Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations at industrialist Mukesh Ambani's house in Mumbai is being shared with false claims that it is recent and shows all the attendees violating social distancing and mask wearing rules.
The video is doing the rounds with claims that celebrities partied irresponsibly at a party hosted by the chairman of Reliance industries, flouting COVID-19 rules, at a time when a new and more potent strain of the novel Coronavirus has been found.
The video shows the Ambanis exchanging pleasantries with several celebrities including actor Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Katrina Kaif, Uddhav Thackeray among others. A few minutes into the star-studded gathering, Mukesh Ambani's wife Nita Ambani can be seen posing for the shutterbugs with Radhika Merchant, Anant Ambani's fiance. Kokilaben Ambani can also be seen interacting with the guests.
One such Facebook post has been captioned as, "You people will not understand that COVID-19 is on now, seeing the young brigade of Ambanis. You will think this is an old video. But this is absolutely recent and fresh vieo. This is a party without mask."
Original caption in Hindi: आप लोगो को लगेगा ही नहीं के अभी कोरॉना चल रहा है जैसे ये अंबानी की बच्चा पार्टी आपको लगेगा ये पुराना वीडियो है लेकिन ये बिलकुल ताजा वीडियो है बिना मास्क वाली पार्टी ...)
Maharashtra government announced night curfew from 11 pm to 6 am in six major cities of the state till January 5, 2021, following the United Kingdom warning about a potent new strain of the Covd-19 virus that is believed to spread the infection faster. On December 21 the Center announced a ban on flights from the UK till December 31 as well.
BOOM received the video on its tipline and helpline for verification as well with the caption that took a dig at celebs for not wearing masks or practising social distancing. The caption reads, "Ek ne bhi mask nahi pahna including big B...No distancing...Rare video"
Video shows Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations at Antilia in 2019
BOOM broke the video into its key frames and ran a reverse image search on a few of the frames. We were directed to the same footage which was uploaded on September 2, 2019 by several channels covering entertainment. According to the title of one such video, celebrities from Mumbai were spotted at the Ambani residence to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi that year - "Rekha, Amitabh Bachchan, among other celebs at Ambani's Antilia for Ganesh Chaturthi celebration"
The Indian Express Online uploaded a video featuring visuals from the same party, with a descript: "On Monday night, the Ambanis threw a big bash to mark the auspicious occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi. Here's everyone who attended the celebration."
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