An old video of late yoga guru BKS Iyengar practicing yoga is viral with a false claim that it shows a young Narendra Modi.
In the clip, one can see Iyengar performing various yoga poses, with the caption falsely claiming that it is Prime Minister Modi, "You must have never seen this form of yoga form of Modi ji"
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(In Hindi - मोदी जी का यह योगी रूप आपने कभी नही देखा होगा। खुद मोदी जी ने भी नही @narendramodi)
Click here to view, and here for an archive.
We also received the viral clip on our WhatsApp helpline number (7700906111) inquiring if the man in the viral clip is PM Modi.
Viral on Facebook
On searching on Facebook with the same caption, we found that the clip is viral with the false claim.
Viral on Facebook
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FACT-CHECK
We identified the man in the video as the late yoga guru Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja (BKS) Iyengar, who founded and made famous the Iyengar style of yoga.
Iyengar, who passed away in 2014 was the founder of the style of yoga known as "Iyengar Yoga" and is considered one of the prominent yoga teachers in the world.
Search results showed the same clip uploaded with the title "Krishnamacharya & B.K.S. Iyengar in 1938 with Yoga Sutras, Part 1of 6" on June 12, 2009, on the YouTube channel Tom Martin. The same audio can be heard as in the viral clip.
We also found that the same clip uploaded on YouTube on May 12, 2006, with the title "B.K.S. Iyengar 1938 newsreel Part 1 (SILENT)" and caption that stated that it was shoot in 1938 shows Iyengar performing yoga.
One can also see the visuals in this clip as the viral video and the same yoga poses.
We also found a news report by The Atlantic which refers to a 1938 clip of Iyengar with his teacher T Krishnamacharya.
BOOM reached out to Iyengar's granddaughter Abhijata Iyengar who confirmed that the man in the viral clip is B.K.S Iyengar, "That video is by BKS Iyengar which was shot by Dr VB Gokhale, a surgeon from Belgaum in 1938 in Pune's Prabhat Studios which later became the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII)."
Comparison
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