Indian music legend Lata Mangeshkar died on February 6 after her health deteriorated due to COVID-19 and pneumonia.
The central government announced a two-day state mourning while the Maharashtra government declared a public holiday on February 7.
Mangeshkar was cremated with full state honours at Mumbai's Shivaji Park on Sunday evening. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, lyricist Javed Akhtar and Sachin Tendulkar were among the prominent people who came to pay their last respects to the iconic singer.
As many paid their respects to the departed singer, a video of Shah Rukh Khan paying his respects went viral with the claim that he spat on Mangeshkar's body.
In the video, Khan prays before taking off his mask and blowing over Mangeshkar's body according to Islamic customs.
However, BJP leaders and many Hindu right-wing supporters shared the video claiming that Khan disrespected Mangeshkar by spitting on her body.
Arun Yadav, the BJP's IT in charge for Haryana shared the video with the caption: Did he spit? (क्या इसने थूका है ?). BOOM has fact-checked Yadav in the past for peddling misinformation and orchestrating Twitter trends targeting the actor.
An archive of the tweet can be accessed here.
BJP UP spokesperson and serial fake news peddler Prashant Umrao also shared the video claiming the same.
An archive of the tweet can be accessed here.
Sudarshan News Editor in chief Suresh Chavhanke's hour-long "Bindaas Bol" programme also focused on the false claim that Khan spat on Mangeshkar's body.
An archive of the tweet can be accessed here.
However, many on social media slammed these takes and came out in support of Khan.
Insufflation, or the act of blowing air over someone, is a religious custom followed by many religions who believe that the act wards off evil spirit and blesses them.
The act can be seen in Shah Rukh Khan's 2010 movie My Name Is Khan in the song "Sajdaa". In the scene, Kajol and Khan's son is blessed according to Hindu and Islamic customs.
While Kajol blesses her son after performing an aarti, Shah Rukh blesses the boy by blowing air over his head.
The scene can be watched below.
