A video of a crowd at the Pushpa-2 premiere is being falsely shared as people welcoming Lionel Messi in Hyderabad
Amidst Argentine footballer Lionel Messi’s GOAT India 2025 promotional tour (here, here), a video has been widely shared on social media (here, here) showing a large crowd at night, cheering loudly and waving mobile phone flashlights. This video is claimed to show fans in Hyderabad gathered in huge numbers to welcome Messi at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: The video shows the fans welcoming Lionel Messi at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
Fact: The viral video shows a massive crowd during the premier of Allu Arjun’s Pushpa 2, which predates Messi’s visit to Hyderabad. It does not show people gathered to welcome Lionel Messi in the city. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
A reverse image search using keyframes from the viral video led us to an X post from August 2025 that shared a similar clip with hashtags related to Pushpa 2 and Allu Arjun. Further search showed another user sharing the same video well before the arrival of Messi.
Subsequent search based on this cue led us to a YouTube video by Filmy Focus featuring Allu Arjun with the title Allu Arjun at Sandhya Theatre Watching Pusha 2 With Fans on 4 December 2024. The visuals in the video closely match the scenes seen in the viral clip.
The comparison between the screenshot from Allu Arjun’s video on YouTube and the viral video can be seen below.
To sum up, a video of a crowd at the Pushpa 2 premiere is being falsely shared as people welcoming Lionel Messi in Hyderabad.