Video shows mourners bidding farewell to Indian singer, not Dharmendra's funeral procession
- Published on December 12, 2025 at 02:40
- 2 min read
- By Sachin BAGHEL, AFP India
After beloved Bollywood star Dharmendra passed away on November 24, a video of a huge crowd gathered around a hearse circulated in posts that falsely claimed it showed people mourning the actor's death. The clip in fact shows mourners in Guwahati bidding farewell to the singer Zubeen Garg after his death in September.
"Superstar Dharmendra's loved ones gathered at his death; such love," reads the Hindi-language caption of an Instagram video posted on November 24, 2025.
Shared on the same day the Indian actor passed away aged 89 at his home in Mumbai, it shows a huge crowd gathered around a garlanded hearse (archived here and here). A photo of the film star and Hindi text reading "Big Brother Dharmendra no more" are superimposed on the video.
Lovingly known as the "He-Man" of the Indian film industry thanks to his roles in a string of action movies, Dharmendra appeared in more than 250 films in a career spanning over six decades. He also served as a member of parliament and was honoured with one of India's highest civilian awards.
"The passing of Dharmendra Ji marks the end of an era in Indian cinema," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a tribute posted on X (archived link).
The same footage was also shared in similar Instagram posts hours after Dharmendra's passing.
But the circulating video does not show crowds gathering after the veteran actor's death.
Local media reported his funeral was held at the Pawan Hans Crematorium in Mumbai on November 25, and was attended only by a small group of close relatives and friends (archived link).
A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the falsely shared video led to similar footage shared on the official YouTube channel of entertainment news site Indiatimes on September 22 (archived link).
"Thousands in Guwahati Bid Emotional Farewell to Singer Zubeen Garg". The crowd can also be heard chanting the singer's name.
Guwahati is the largest city of the northeastern Indian state of Assam, where Garg is hailed as a cultural icon. His death by drowning in Singapore on September 19 brought the state to a standstill as tens of thousands of mourners thronged the streets (archived link).
Moreover, the video corresponds to Google Street View imagery of an intersection in the city (archived link).
AFP has previously debunked other false claims about funeral crowds that rely on misrepresented visuals.
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