A video, purportedly showing a telephonic conversation between Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan and Malayalam actor Mukesh on Bachchan's show Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) is viral on social media platforms.
BOOM found that the video is old and has been manipulated. Mukesh's voice has been edited into the video, making it appear as though Bachchan was speaking with him during a caller segment on KBC.
An X user shared the video with the caption, "Never Call A Malayali At Night even if you are Amitab Bachan.”
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Fact-check
BOOM found that the conversation between Bachchan and the person speaking Malayalam in the viral video was edited. The audio, which has been falsely linked to the KBC segment, is actually a recording of Malayalam actor and Kollam constituency MLA Mukesh. This audio has been circulating online since June 2015.
In the original clip, Mukesh can be heard furiously confronting someone for calling him after 11 PM. The audio, which contains abusive language directed at the caller, runs for 3 minutes and 20 seconds and was first uploaded to YouTube in June 2015.
We also came across reports of Mukesh addressing the incident. In a December 2015 interview with Kochi Times about a film role, he commented on the viral call, saying he had “no regrets about that conversation.” He described his response as a “natural reaction” and noted that he hadn’t received much criticism for it, as reported by The Times of India.
However, this wasn’t the only instance of such behavior. In July 2021, according to Manorama, Mukesh lashed out at a class 10 student from Ottappalam in Palakkad for calling him repeatedly—six times—while he was attending a meeting.
As for the KBC video itself, it was uploaded by KBC India on March 25, 2024. The clip is from Season 14, Episode 58, in which Bachchan makes a surprise call to a man named Khurram Kalam from Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh. At the 51:42 mark, Bachchan is seen speaking to Kalam, who initially believes the call is a scam and hangs up.