Sanjeeb Phuyal is the Nepali Editor of Newschecker based in Kathmandu, Nepal. He brings over a decade of experience writing and editing news. In his previous stint, he worked as online editor for The Kathmandu Post. With the growth of social media platforms—and the ever-growing competition amongst media outlets to churn out breaking news, he feels that fact-checking every piece of information has become more essential today than ever before.
Claim
Inebriated Bollywood actor and politician Sunny Deol wandering on the streets of Mumbai.
Fact
Viral clip is from the shooting of Bollywood movie Safar.
A video allegedly showing Bollywood actor and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sunny Deol wandering under the influence on the streets of Juhu Circle area in Mumbai is going viral on TikTok.
TikTok user @filmygyan_2 posted a video showing inebriated Sunny Deol walking towards an auto rickshaw. English text superimposed on the video reads, “Sunny Deol drunk roaming on Mumbai road, fans shocked.” Hindi audio presented in a news reporting style says, “Drunken Sunny Deol was found roaming the streets. Inebriated Deol was not aware of the things around himself. A sensational video has emerged. Those who see this video can’t believe their eyes. It is being claimed that Sunny Deol was roaming on a busy street under the influence. In the meantime, an auto rickshaw driver recognizes him and stops his auto before Sunny. The auto driver helps Sunny to get inside the auto and leave.”
The voice over goes on to say, “Social media users have been gossiping that Sunny Deol has become puffed up with stardom after the success of his movie Gaddar-2.”
Another user @alyana.pari posted a close-up view of the same video. The video clearly shows an auto rickshaw stopping before Sunny Deol and the auto driver helps him get inside the auto. Text superimposed on the video reads, “Sunny Deol at Juhu circle. Sunny spotted on his own wandering and drunk.”
Another handle, @southasianjournal, posted the same video with text superimposed on the video reading, “Sunny Deol at Juhu circle. Gaddar hero Sunny Deol on screen and drunk in real life.”
Fact Check /Verification
To check the authenticity of the claim made in the viral video, Newschecker conducted a search on Google by using relevant keywords such as ‘Sunny Deol Drunk’ and the search threw up several articles in which the actor clarifies about the viral clip depicting him walking drunk in Mumbai.
One such report published in the Indian Express on December 15, 2023, quoted Deol’s clarification that the viral footage actually was actually from the shoot of his upcoming film Safar.
We also found another article published on bollywoodshaadis.com on December 15, 2023 where Deol addressed the viral video.
According to the article, Sunny Deol, in a recent interaction with Zoom, talked about his recent viral clip showing him roaming aimlessly on the busy streets of Mumbai’s Juhu circle while being drunk, and clarified that it was from a shoot.
Further, we found a video shared by Sunny Deol on his social media account X (formerly Twitter), with a Hindi caption that translates to “The journey of rumours should stop here.” The video shows behind-the-scenes of Sunny amongst crew members shooting the same scene.
Thus, our findings clearly showed that the viral clip doesn’t show Bollywood actor and politician Sunny Deol walking drunk on the busy street.
Conclusion
The viral video allegedly showing Bollywood actor Sunny Deo walking aimlessly in a drunken stupor on the streets of Mumbai is misleading. The viral clip is actually from the shooting of a Bollywood movie Safar.
Result: Missing Context
Sources
Indian Express, December 15, 2023
Bollywoodshaadis.com, December 15, 2023
Sunny Deol /X (formerly Twitter),
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Sanjeeb Phuyal is the Nepali Editor of Newschecker based in Kathmandu, Nepal. He brings over a decade of experience writing and editing news. In his previous stint, he worked as online editor for The Kathmandu Post. With the growth of social media platforms—and the ever-growing competition amongst media outlets to churn out breaking news, he feels that fact-checking every piece of information has become more essential today than ever before.
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