A video of actor Amitabh Bachchan acknowledging and appreciating the doctors and staff of Dr. Balabhai Nanavati Hospital is being extensively circulated on various social media platforms and being shared by numerous news institutions, claiming that it is a recent video of the actor’s visit to the hospital after he tested positive for Coronavirus on Saturday, 11 July 2020.
However, it turns out that the claim is untrue.
In the video, the actor is conveying a thanksgiving message to doctors and the staff for their constant and ceaseless battle against the virus. He said, “I thank the doctors, nurses and staff of Nanavati Hospital for the tremendous work that they are doing in these trying times.”
The video was widely shared by the actor’s fans and followers. Also, various news protals including Aaj Tak and Outlook shared the video claiming that it is a video the actor made after testing positive for COVID-19.
Although on conducting a Google reverse image search. It showed results of the same video being uploaded on YouTube on 24 April 2020 by Bombay Talkies TV’s official YouTube channel. A tweet dated 23 April by film Journalist Faridoon Shahryar was also found in which he shared the same video with a caption stating: “@SrBachchan inspiring message to all the doctors and nurses who are working tirelessly and fearlessly to save lives.”
A number of news reports from April which carried the video message by the actor were also found.
Undoubtedly, an old video of the actor appreciating the bravery being shown by the frontline workers during the pandemic is being circulated with a claim that it was recorded after he was admitted to the hospital after testing positive for COVID-19.