Clip of Bollywood actress reenacting film scene misrepresented online

Published on October 15, 2025 at 04:45
2 min read
By Akshita KUMARI, AFP India

A video of popular Bollywood actress Rani Mukerji has circulated alongside social media posts falsely claiming she had insulted a journalist who criticised her weight. However, the clip has been misleadingly edited -- the full footage shows her reenacting a scene from one of her films with the journalist.

"Rajdeep Sardesai told Rani Mukerji, you have become fat after marriage. Rani Mukerji insulted him like a dog. The video was quickly edited, and this portion was cut out," reads the Hindi-language caption to a video shared on Facebook on October 3, 2025.

The seven-second video that racked up more than 957,000 views shows the actress telling veteran Indian journalist Rajdeep Sardesai in Hindi: "Shut up and sit here quietly" (archived link).

Mukerji picked up a National Film Award for best actress for her role in the Hindi film, "Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway", after which she appeared at an event by media outlet India Today on September 26 to talk about her 30-year career in the Indian movie industry (archived link).

Screenshot of the false Facebook post captured on October 8, 2025, with a red X added by AFP

The clip circulated online alongside similar posts on Facebook, Instagram, X and Threads after the event, where she was interviewed by Sardesai.

Comments from users indicated they believed the video showed the actress reacting to a sexist remark about her weight.

One user wrote: "I consider such behavior entirely appropriate when dealing with someone who asks offensive questions."

"Never heard Rani talk like this; perhaps he went too far with his rudeness," another commented.

However, the unedited footage of the event actually shows Sardesai and Mukerji reenacting a scene from one of her films.

Reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the clip found the full interview with Mukerji uploaded on a verified India Today YouTube channel on October 3, 2025 (archived link).

Screenshot comparison of the clip shared in false posts (L) and the video shared on YouTube

The video's description states that Mukerji was joined onstage by a former female police officer, Meeran Chadha Borwankar, who was the real-life inspiration for a Mukerji's "Mardaani" film series, in which she played a tough policewoman.

The circulating clip corresponds to the video's 32:38 mark. Before that, Borwankar was talking about a scene from "Mardaani" in which Mukerji's character was able to command the men who worked for her.

Sardesai then asks Mukerji to reenact the scene, saying, "I can stand here as a goon who has been hauled up to your police station."

At this point, Mukerji plays along and shouts at Sardesai, "Sit down. Shut up and sit here quietly".

A clip of the reenactment was also uploaded to the official Facebook page of Indian media outlet Aaj Tak on September 27, with the caption: "When Rani Mukerji turned 'Mardaani' on the stage of India Today Mumbai Conclave" (archived link).

Is there content that you would like AFP to fact-check? Get in touch.

E-mail