Retired teacher misidentified as award-winning veteran Indian actress in false posts

This article is more than one year old.
Published on October 4, 2023 at 08:44
3 min read
By Uzair RIZVI, AFP India

Social media posts misidentifying a dancing woman in a video as veteran Indian actress Waheeda Rehman were shared repeatedly after she was given the country's most prestigious film award in September 2023. But the woman seen in the clip is in fact a retired teacher, who told AFP she now dances as a hobby.

"Good morning. Meet the recently announced Dadasaheb Phalke Awardee. Aged 85 (Waheeda Rehman) still going strong.....agility, grace, expressions," reads the caption of a post on X, formerly Twitter, on September 27, 2023.

The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India's highest honour in cinema, recognising those who have made "outstanding contributions" to the growth and development of the country's film industry (archived link).

Waheeda Rehman, a veteran actress with a career in Indian film spanning five decades, was honoured with the lifetime achievement award by the Indian government on September 26, 2023 (archived link).

The one-minute, 40-second clip shared alongside the post shows a woman dancing outdoors to a song from the 1965 film "Guide", which features Rehman (archived links here and here).

Screenshot of the false post taken on September 27, 2023

Similar Facebook posts here and here also misidentified the woman dancing in the video as Rehman.

Comments left by other users indicated they believed the claims.

One of the users commented: "A graceful dancer. Best wishes to Waheeda Rahman!Wish her a happy and healthy life."

"Salute to my most favorite actress Vahida Rahman jee," another wrote.

Retired teacher

A Google reverse image search found the same video uploaded here to YouTube on a channel called "Mayookha" on January 2, 2023, titled "Mayookha - Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna Hai (Dance Cover)" (archived link).

The video's description reads, in part: "New year greetings and wishes for a healthy, happy, peaceful and pandemic free new year from Mayookha."

Below is a screenshot comparison of the video in false posts (left) and the YouTube video (right):

Screenshot comparison of the video shared in false posts (left) and the YouTube video (right)

The YouTube channel's "About" section indicates it is owned by Sunila Ashok (archived link).

The channel's description reads: "Dance has been a sincere practice and a great source of joy throughout my life.

"With more time on my hands these days and with the wholehearted support and encouragement of my family, I have now decided to document my current performances. I hope you enjoy the videos as much as I enjoy making them."

Sunila Ashok, a retired teacher, confirmed she is the person in the video.

"I've been mistaken for Waheeda Rehman in my video. The original video was posted on my official YouTube channel on January 2, 2023," she told AFP on September 27, 2023.

Sunila, now pursuing dancing as a hobby, also posted a clarification on her Instagram, saying she was "greatly honoured" to be compared to Rehman (archived link).

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Sunila Ashok (@mayookha_sunila)

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