An image of television actress Devoleena Bhattacharjee with her husband Shanwaz Shaikh is circulating on social media with false claims that she acted in the film 'The Kerala Story' despite being married to a Muslim in real life.
BOOM found that the claim is misleading as Bhattacharjee was not a part of The Kerala Story.
The claim is viral in the context of Bhattacharjee's latest social media posts about the film.
The Kerala Story, produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah, is a story of a group of women from Kerala being trafficked to Syria and Afghanistan to join the terrorist organisation ISIS. The film, which was endorsed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has divided audiences in India with the right-wing coming out in support of it while others have expressed concerns that the film promotes harmful stereotypes about Muslims and demonizes the community.
In a fact-check, BOOM found that 'The Kerala Story'’s claim of 32,000 women did not add up.
Bhattacharjee recently took to Twitter to share that she watched it with her husband Shanwaz Shaikh, who appreciated it and did not feel that it hurt religious sentiments. In a response to a tweet she wrote that her husband, a Muslim, was not offended by the content of the film.
The image of the actress and her husband has been shared with the caption that takes a dig at interfaith marriages and how Bhattacharjee, who married a Muslim in real life, chose to act in the controversial film.
The caption reads, "If a Muslim is rich then he is a son-in-law. If a Muslim is poor then it is love jihad !! Example movie The Kerala Story's co actor Devoleena Bhattacharjee's husband's name is Shahnawaz Sheikh !!" (Oriiginal text in Hindi: मुसलमान अगर पैसे वाला है तो दामाद है मुसलमान अगर गरीब है तो लव जिहाद है !! उदाहरण फिल्म द केरला स्टोरी की सहायक अभिनेत्री देवालिना भट्टाचार्य के पति का नाम शहनवाज शेख है !!)
The same claim was amplified by an ex ABP News journalist who stated that Bhattacharjee is a supporting actor in the film.
FACT CHECK
BOOM reached out to Bhattacharjee, who confirmed that she has not acted in The Kerala Story. Bhattacharjee told BOOM, "This is not true. I have not acted in the film." Bhattacharjee also called out users on Twitter who targeted her for marrying a Muslim.
According to reports Bhattacharjee married her gym trainer Shanwaz Shaikh in December 2022.
The viral photograph of Shaikh and Bhattacharjee was taken during Eid this year.
The Kerala Story stars Adah Sharma, Yogita Bhihani, Sonia Balani, Siddhi Idnani and others in lead and supporting roles. Click here to see the entire star cast of the film.