A post (here, here, and here) featuring a video allegedly released by Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan is doing its rounds on social media. It is being claimed that Amitabh Bachchan has finally broken his silence and made a video to open people’s eyes. In the video, we can hear a man who sounds like Amitabh Bachchan making political remarks. We fact-check this claim through this article.

Claim: Video of Amitabh Bachchan expressing his thoughts on the current political situation in India.

Fact: Amitabh Bachchan has not released such a video. This video features a voice-over resembling Amitabh Bachchan’s voice, generated using Artificial Intelligence. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.

To check the veracity of the viral claim, we performed a keyword search on the internet to check if Amitabh Bachchan had made or posted this video. After going through all his official social media accounts (here, here, and here), we did not find the viral video on any of them. Also, we did not find any news reports about Amitabh Bachchan making such a statement.

While going through the viral footage, we saw a watermark that reads ‘Appu Patel BJP.’ Through a keyword search, we found the Facebook profile of Appu Patel, which contains videos (here, here, and here) featuring the same watermark as seen in the viral video. However, we did not find the viral video on his profile. 

This common watermark and the way clips from various movies and incidents are edited together over a voice-over made us suspect that the viral video may have been edited by this person. Also, the voice-over in the video sounds slightly off and is not 100% similar to Amitabh Bachchan’s voice. With a suspicion that the voice could have been AI-generated, we ran the video through TrueMedia, an AI content detection tool that found (archive link) substantial evidence for manipulation in the voice present in the video. 

We then ran the audio from the viral video through Hive Moderation, which is also an AI content detection tool. The analysis report (archive link) of Hive showed us that there is a 99.9% likelihood of the audio being generated by AI. 

To sum up, an edited video containing a voice-over generated by AI is falsely shared as a real video of Amitabh Bachchan voicing his opinion on the current political condition in our country. 

(This story was originally published by Factly, and republished by NDTV as part of the Shakti Collective)

New Delhi:

Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan and his son Abhishek Bachchan have acquired residential properties worth nearly Rs 25 crore in Mulund West, Mumbai, according to Square Yards.

Mulund West is a highly sought-after residential hub known for its strategic connectivity to both the central and western parts of Mumbai.

In a statement on Thursday, the real estate consultant said that Amitabh Bachchan and his son have acquired properties worth Rs 24.95 crore in Mumbai’s Mulund West locality. Square Yards said it has reviewed registration documents.

“The newly purchased properties are located in Oberoi Realty’s premium residential project, Eternia, which offers ready-to-move-in 3 BHK and 4 BHK apartments,” it said.

These recently acquired apartments by the Bachchan family span a total carpet area of 10,216 square feet, with 10 apartments purchased in total — eight having carpet area of 1,049 square feet each and two spanning 912 square feet per unit.

Each transaction included two car parking spaces, and the deal incurred a total stamp duty of Rs 1.50 crore.

Abhishek Bachchan acquired six of these apartments for Rs 14.77 crore and Amitabh Bachchan purchased the remaining four apartments, the statement said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Mithun Chakraborty.
| Photo Credit: ANI

In an industry which foists a new deity every Friday, Mithun Chakraborty’s has been a story of resilience. Announced as the recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award on Monday (September 30, 2024), Mithun Chakraborty has never been a prisoner of image. From arthouse to mainstream commercial cinema to even fare meant unabashedly for frontbenchers, he has straddled different genres with consummate ease.

Beginning with Mrinal Sen’s Mrigayaa in 1976, he has probably been the only major actor to make a successful transition from arthouse cinema to commercial potboilers and back. While Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi, Om Puri and Smita Patil each dabbled with limited success in mainstream cinema after carving out their own niche in parallel cinema, Mithun is the only one to get a good bite of the cherry.

In parallel cinema, he has worked with the likes of Mrinal Sen, Buddhadeb Dasgupta and Goutam Ghose, winning three National Awards in the process. He switched to mainstream fare with the likes of B. Subash, K.C. Bokadia, Manmohan Desai and Parto Ghosh without a hiccup, giving his fans films like Disco Dancer, Dance Dance, Pyar Jhukta Nahin, Ganga Jumna Saraswati, Agneepath and Dalaal, etc. Director B. Subash’s Disco Dancer got Mithun an international fan following with the film raking it rich in the Soviet Union, Japan and China besides India. For a few years in the mid-80s, he was the best-known Indian abroad. At a time when Hindi cinema was dominated by Salim-Javed’s ‘Angry Young Man’ persona, Mithun rewrote the box office rules with Disco Dancer, where Bappi Lahiri’s music and his dance numbers ensured repeat audiences.

For a brief while in the late 80s, he challenged Amitabh Bachchan for the top slot in Hindi cinema, encouraging Desai to give him a meaty role in Ganga Jamunaa Saraswati, a rarity in Hindi cinema where most heroes played second fiddle to Bachchan.

Yet, Mithun’s most durable claim to fame has to be his foray into serious cinema where his work in films like Tahader Katha, Kaalpurush, Swami Vivekanand and Gudiya is still remembered. With his restrained work in arthouse cinema, he disproved the notion that an action hero of Hindi cinema could not pull off neorealism fare. Tahader Katha, Kaalpurush, Swami Vivekanand and Mrigayaa, each one got a National Award giving Mithun his own niche in serious cinema, and making sure his popularity traversed from first-day-first-show to film festival circuit.

There is, however, another aspect of Mithun’s career which has been under-appreciated. He is probably the first A-grade star to work in films specially made for the less-discerning audiences. In the mid-90s, Mithun reworked the economics of cinema by shooting for films exclusively in Ooty with a standard cast comprising the likes of Hemant Birje, Gautami, Deepti Bhatnagar, Kiran Kumar and Raza Murad with music by Dilip Sen-Sameer Sen. The films, made on a shoe-string budget of around ₹40 lakh, were completed within a month or so and released without fanfare at smaller centres. Films like Jallad, Chandaal, Dada, Hitler, The Don and Cheetah were not heard of in metropolises but earned the producers sizeable profit besides keeping Mithun’s hardcore fans in small towns happy. Interestingly, while G.V. Iyer took 11 years to complete the research for Mithun’s Swami Vivekanand, the star meanwhile completed more than 20 films!

In recent times, Mithun has played supporting roles in films like TheKashmir Files and The Tashkent Files, forays which probably went some way in convincing the three-member jury comprising former Dadasaheb awardee Asha Parekh, actor-politician Khushbu Sundar and filmmaker Vipul Amrutlal Shah to select Mithun Chakraborty for the highest honour in Indian cinema.

Veteran actor and politician Jaya Bachchan took a strong objection after Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman, Harivansh Narayan Singh, addressed her using her husband’s name yesterday.

“Shrimati Jaya Amitabh Bachchan ji, please,” Harivansh Narayan said – calling upon her to speak in the House. 

” Jaya Bachchan respinded, “Sir, sirf Jaya Bachchan bolte to kaafi hojata (It would’ve been enough to call me Jaya Bachchan).”

Harivansh Narayan Singh then pointed out that her name is officially registered as Jaya Amitabh Bachchan in Parliament’s records.

“Your full name was written here, I just repeated the same,” Mr Singh said.

“This is something new, that women will be recognised by the name of their husbands. They (women) have no existence or achievements of their own,” Ms Bachchan said.

Watch: “It’s a very painful incident and we should not bring politics into the matter,” says Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan on the death of the UPSC student in Old Rajinder Nagar pic.twitter.com/4928QcZoNS

— IANS (@ians_india) July 29, 2024

Ms Bachchan later addressed the deaths of three UPSC aspirants at a Delhi’s coaching centre.

“It’s a very painful incident and we should not bring politics into the matter,” she said.

Three students drowned in the flooded basement of a coaching centre in east Delhi last week.

The incident has sparked a protest by students, who have blamed civic negligence for the incident. A political blame-game has also begun, with the BJP targeting the Aam Aadmi Party, which is in power in Delhi and also controls MCD.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today responded to Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan’s post about the former’s visit to Parvati Kund and Jageshwar Temples. He also invited the actor to visit Rann Utsav in Kutch. PM Modi also added that Mr Bachchan’s visit to the Statue of Liberty in Vadodara is also due.

On Saturday, Mr Bachchan wrote on X, formerly Twitter, “T 4799 – The religiosity .. the mystery .. the divinity of Kailash Parbat , has been intriguing me for long.” However, he added that he will never be able to visit the place. “And the tragedy is that I shall never be able to visit it in person,” he said on the platform. A lot of users asked him about his well-being and his reasons for not being able to go there.

Replying to the same, the Prime Minister said, “My visit to Parvati Kund and Jageshwar Temples was truly mesmerising. In the coming weeks, Rann Utsav is starting and I would urge you to visit Kutch. Your visit to Statue of Unity is also due.”

My visit to Parvati Kund and Jageshwar Temples was truly mesmerising.

In the coming weeks, Rann Utsav is starting and I would urge you to visit Kutch. Your visit to Statue of Unity is also due. https://t.co/VRyRRy3YZ8

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 15, 2023

Meanwhile, PM Modi offered prayers at the Gauri Kund, a holy site for Hindus, in Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand and caught a glimpse of the Adi Kailash on October 12. He began his daylong visit to the border state by catching a glimpse of the Adi Kailash peak, believed to be the abode of Shiva. He was wearing a traditional outfit, complete with a white turban and a ‘ranga’ (upper body garment).

Sharing some more glimpses from Parvati Kund. pic.twitter.com/knqEzDpa6U

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 12, 2023

He also performed aarti at the Shiva Parvati temple along the banks of Parvati Kund in Jolingkong and meditated with folded hands in front of the Adi Kailash peak. From there, he reached the Gunji village and interacted with the locals and attended an exhibition that had local artefacts on display, accompanied by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.

On the other hand, “Big B” recently celebrated his 81st birthday. He shared a collage featuring an image from his Wednesday evening greet and meet session on Instagram and thanked his fans and supporters. He wrote in the caption, “This love and affection is beyond any effort to repay it .. blessed and filled with unending gratitude.”
 

New Delhi:

Traders’ body CAIT has filed a complaint with the Ministry of Consumer Affairs against a Flipkart advertisement featuring Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan on the upcoming Big Billion Days sale, terming the advertisement as “misleading”.

The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) in its complaint to the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) termed the advertisement “misleading” and against the country’s small retailers. It has also sought withdrawal of the advertisement, according to a statement.

CAIT demanded that a penalty be imposed on Flipkart as per relevant provisions of the Consumer Protection Act for “false or misleading advertisement” and imposition of a Rs 10 lakh fine on Amitabh Bachchan.

An email sent to Flipkart did not elicit a response. Bachchan could not be contacted for comments.

“As per the definition under Section 2(47), Flipkart, acting through Amitabh Bachchan (endorser), have misled the public regarding the price at which mobile phones are being made available by sellers/suppliers in the smartphone market of India.

“This has the effect of disparaging the goods, services or trade of another person,” CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said in the complaint.

Further, he said as per rule 4 of the Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements, 2022, the advertisement by Flipkart “is misleading because it doesn’t contain truthful and honest representation and is wholly incorrect, malicious, misleading and manipulative”.

Last week, CAIT called out the advertisement with Bachchan promoting Flipkart’s upcoming Big Billion Day sale and telling consumers that deals on mobiles won’t be available offline at retail stores.

The Big Billion Days sale is slated to take place from October 8-15. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)