The attack on a Muslim character in a play is being shared in a false religious context
A video going viral on social media (here, here, and here) allegedly shows a Muslim man on stage saying he will convert 100 Hindus to Muslims, after which he is attacked from behind by another man. Let’s find out the truth behind the video in this fact-check.
Claim: Video shows a Muslim man being attacked by another man after saying he will convert 100 Hindus to Muslims.
Fact: The incident took place on 10 September 2024, in Sambalpur district, Odisha. During a play, a Muslim character, portrayed by actor Nava Kumar Ghosh, was delivering a dialogue about converting Hindus to Muslims when a spectator attacked him. Ghosh later responded that the audience’s reaction felt like a great award for him as an actor. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
A reverse image search of the keyframes from the viral video led us to several media reports (here, here, and here) from Odisha. According to these reports, the incident took place on 10 September 2024, in Sambalpur district, Odisha, during a play.
Further, a Google keyword search led us to several videos of the play on YouTube (here, here, and here) uploaded on 11 September 2024. In a scene of the play, a man playing the Muslim character tries to convert another character to Islam, saying, “I will convert all Hindus to Muslims.” While delivering this dialogue, a person from the audience came on stage and attacked him. The organizers immediately restrained the man and escorted him out.
Further investigation into the incident revealed that the actor who portrayed the Muslim character in the play was Nava Kumar Ghosh (Kishore Ghosh). In an interview with local media, Ghosh stated that the audience is like God to him and that receiving such a response from them is a great reward for him as an actor.
To sum up, the attack on a Muslim character in a play is being shared in a false religious context.