This viral video of actor Sanjay Dutt allegedly criticising CM Nitish Kumar over the niqab-pulling incident is edited
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is facing criticism after a video from a public event showed him pulling down the niqab of a Muslim woman. The clip went viral, with many calling the act inappropriate and disrespectful, and questioning the conduct of a public representative (here, here, and here).
Following the incident, a video began circulating on social media (here, here) claiming to show Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt criticising JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar over the episode. The video features a self-recorded message in which the actor is purportedly seen urging the Bihar Chief Minister to apologise. In the clip, Sanjay Dutt is allegedly heard saying, “Look, Nitish Kumar, your position is high, but your actions should be even greater. Raising a hand against a woman’s honour, regardless of her religion, does not befit a Chief Minister. The way that women’s hijab was treated was very wrong and against the culture of this country. Remember, the chair gives you power, but humanity teaches you to respect women. There is still time. Admit your mistake and apologise, because respect is not obtained by asking, but by fulfilling one’s duty.” Let’s verify the truth behind the video in this article.
Claim: The video shows actor Sanjay Dutt criticising Nitish Kumar over the niqab-pulling incident.
Fact: The audio in the viral clip is digitally added. In the original video uploaded on Sanjay Dutt’s Instagram account on 08 August 2019, he can be seen speaking about the Marathi film Baba, with no reference to Nitish Kumar or the niqab-pulling incident. There are no reports of the actor criticising the Bihar Chief Minister. Hive AI detection tool also flagged the viral clip as a deepfake. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Upon reviewing the viral video, we noticed that Sanjay Dutt’s voice and lip movements do not match, indicating that the audio was likely added digitally.
We also found no credible reports of actor Sanjay Dutt criticising Nitish Kumar over the niqab-pulling incident. Considering the significance of the incident, such a statement would have received wide media coverage, but no reports were found.
A reverse image search of keyframes from the viral video led us to the same clip shared by Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt on his official Instagram account on 08 August 2019. Although the background in the self-recorded video matches the viral clip, the original video is unrelated to the niqab-pulling incident. On reviewing it, we found that Dutt was speaking about the Marathi film Baba, the first Marathi movie produced under his banner, thanking the media and audiences for their support and encouraging viewers to watch the film, rather than criticising Nitish Kumar or commenting on any controversy.
We found multiple media reports featuring this video of Sanjay Dutt, in which he is speaking about Baba, the first Marathi film produced under his banner (here, here).
Suspecting the video to be AI-manipulated, we analysed it using the Hive AI content detection tool. The tool flagged the video with an aggregate score of 80.6%, indicating that it is likely fake.
To sum up, this viral video of actor Sanjay Dutt allegedly criticising CM Nitish Kumar over the niqab-pulling incident is edited.