Fact-Check | Viral quote on Kangana Ranaut, PM Modi misattributed to actor Naseeruddin Shah

What is the claim?

A social media post has gone viral, attributing a quote to veteran Indian actor Naseeruddin Shah. The quote reads, "Kangana Ranaut has a problem with almost every actor except Narendra Modi."

Ranaut, an actor-turned-politician, is currently a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate for the Mandi seat in Himachal Pradesh in the ongoing Indian general election. She filed her nomination papers on May 14, 2024.

Some social media posts have used screenshots from X (formerly known as Twitter) to suggest that Shah made his statement about Ranaut and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the platform. Archives of these posts can be found here, here, here, and here. 

Screenshots of the viral posts on social media.

Did Naseeruddin Shah make such a comment?

This claim has been circulating since 2021. However, there are no credible reports or any other sources that support the claim that Shah made this statement either in 2021 or recently.

We also found no evidence of such a statement on his Facebook or Instagram accounts.

Logically Facts contacted Shah for a comment on the viral quote about Ranaut and Modi. He responded, “I do not recall saying either this or some other statements attributed to me in the last couple of years on Twitter, on which I do not have an official account. There seems to be a fake account operating in my name.”

Fake accounts masquerading as Shah

As Shah informed Logically Facts, he does not have an X account.

Reports from 2021 also confirm this, with actor Ratna Pathak Shah, Naseeruddin Shah’s wife, clarifying that he does not have a Twitter account. She stated, "Mr. Shah doesn't have a Twitter account but has been unable to stop these fake accounts."

The reports noted that in February 2021, Shah's name was associated with fabricated quotes on X (then Twitter) related to the farmer’s agitation against the government’s former farm laws.

In January 2020, Shah posted a video on Instagram addressing the fake accounts on X (then Twitter), urging people not to believe the content posted by such accounts, clarifying that they were not his comments.

On February 10, 2021, Alt News published a report about fake Twitter accounts posing as Shah. They highlighted an account on X, with the handle @naseruddin_shah, impersonating the actor. The report noted that after being called out for fake posts, the account added to their bio, "Not affiliated With Naseeruddin Shah, FC, Parody."

During our research, we found Facebook posts containing a screenshot of the same account (with the username ‘Naseeruddin shah’ and the handle @naseruddin_shah) posting the alleged quote about Ranaut and Modi.

Screenshot of the fake account's posts.

We searched for the X account in question and discovered that it has now been suspended.

We then looked for archives of the account and found several posts from it, including the viral statement. This fake account, later renamed 'Naseeruddin shah #parody,' originally posted the alleged quote on February 9, 2021. Screenshots of this post are still being shared on social media.

Screenshot of the fake account on archived pages.

The verdict

A claim originating from a 2021 post by a fake account posing as actor Naseeruddin Shah is being circulated, suggesting that he made comments about Ranaut and Modi. The quote is fabricated, and Shah did not make such a statement in reality. As a result, we have marked this claim as false.

This story was originally published by Logically Facts, and republished by Deccan Herald as part of the Shakti Collective.