A video is viral on social media where Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan is heard saying that his father is from Peshawar in Pakistan which makes him a pathan, and that when Pakistan wins, it mean a victory for his father's side.
The 20-second clip has been shared widely on Facebook multiple times in the past to purportedly show Khan as being supportive of Pakistan, along with calls to boycott Khan's latest film Pathaan, which is dated to be released on January 25, 2022.
BOOM found that the viral video has been clipped and shared out of context. While he did say that when Pakistan wins, his father's side wins, he immediately followed it up by saying that when India wins, its a victory for his mother's side. The second part of the comment has been removed from the viral videos, to falsely insinuate that Khan is taking Pakistan's side against India.
In a recent post, a Facebook user shared the video with the caption, "मैं भी एक पठान हूं जब पाकिस्तान जीतता है तो मुझे लगता है कि मेरा वालिद जीत गया - शाहरुख़ खान सुना है इसकी कोई मूवी आ रही है , परन्तु उससे पहले इसका पाकिस्तान प्रेम देखिए ... #BoycottPathaan #BoycottbollywoodForever"
In the video, Khan is heard saying, "I want to say something to you. My father is actually from Peshawar, Pakistan. I am a Pathan too though I do not look like one. I have a weak constitution. But I am also a Pathan, lacking in height. And, this is not to create any controversy... but when you win, I feel like my father's side has won."
In August, a Twitter user shared the same 20-second clip with calls to boycott Pathan.
Context Check
Upon watching the video closely, we noticed a few Pakistani players like Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Malik being addressed by Khan. Taking cue from this, we did a YouTube search with keywords "shah rukh khan shahid afridi peshawar", which led us to a YouTube video from October 16, 2009, titled, "Shahrukh Khan talking about Shahid Afridi & Peshawar."
The video also shows Khan bringing Indian spin bowler Harbhajan Singh on stage and speaking to him. We added "harbhajan" to our list of keywords and found yet another video from the same show, which included the words "Chak De Yaara".
Taking hint from this, we searched for "shah rukh khan chak de yaara" on YouTube and stumbled across the entire unedited footage from the show.
The nearly 1-hour long footage, titled, "Chak de Yaara. An example of India Pakistan Friendship", had a caption which stated, "Chak de yaara, an Indian Show organized back in 2007 when Pakistan tour India for an ODI and a Test Series. Shahrukh Khan & Sajid Khan were the host that evening."
At the 33:20 mark of this YouTube video, we found the segment that was clipped and made viral out of context. Here Khan is heard saying his father was from Peshawar, and so he feels his father's side has won when Pakistan gets a victory.
This is immediately followed by him saying, "When our India wins, feels like mother's side has won." This part of his speech is left out of the viral video.
According to an article by IB Times, Chak De Yaara was a special event organised during Pakistan's tour of India to play a 5-match ODI and 3-match Test series.
Khan's Pakistani Roots
This is not the first time his father Meer Taj Mohammad Khan's Pakistani roots has made Shah Rukh Khan a target of false information.
Last year, a newspaper clipping claiming Khan's father to be among the youngest freedom fighters in the Quit India movement of 1942, was contested by several right wing Facebook pages with false claims.
Khan's biographical book King of Bollywood by Anupama Chopra mentions that his father had come to India from Peshawar in 1942 to join the Quit India movement, when he was around 15 years old.