The claim

A picture of actor-turned-politician Kangana Ranaut with a man has gone viral on social media with the claim that the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) leader posed for a photograph with gangster Abu Salem. 

Several users have shared the photo to imply a connection between Ranaut and the 1993 Mumbai blast convict who is currently serving a life sentence. The viral image had an overlaid text in Hindi, which translated to, “Some memorable moments of devotees’ lioness (referring to Ranaut) with the country’s enemy Abu Salem.”  Ranaut is the BJP candidate from the Mandi constituency in the North Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, which goes to polls on June 1, in the seventh and final phase of the Indian general elections. 

An X (formerly Twitter) user sharing the image wrote, “Sister of blind devotees, spending some memorable moments with ‘Abu Salem’… (translated from Hindi).” The post was viewed 57,000 times at the time of writing this story. Archived versions of similar posts can be found here, here, and here.

Screenshot of the claims made online. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, the man in the image is a former journalist, not convicted gangster Abu Salem.

What did we find?

Several news outlets have reported on Kangana Ranaut’s recent clarification on Instagram, stating that her photo with one former journalist Mark Manuel has been shared as her being photographed with gangster Abu Salem.

Taking this clue, we ran a Google Search for ‘Mark Manuel’ and checked his Instagram and Facebook accounts. We found that Manuel is a former editor at The Times of India. He has also worked as a journalist for Mid-Day and has served as a columnist for the Hindustan Times and HuffPost.

Manuel had shared the now-viral image on his official Instagram account (archived here) on September 15, 2017, with the caption, “Kangana Ranaut… love, sex and betrayal. Read it on my Facebook page.” He had also shared the same image on Facebook the same day (archived here). In the caption, Manuel wrote that this picture was taken at “Korner House in Khar some months ago.” “It was at a champagne brunch to celebrate Kangana’s film ‘Simran’ that releases today (sic),” he had written.

Further investigation into his Facebook account revealed that he had shared a post in October 2023 carrying the same image (archived here) along with several other screenshots of some news headlines. We learned that the photo in question had also gone viral in 2023 with the same claim.

In a clarification under the image, Manuel explains that a photo of Kangana Ranaut with him from a 2017 Huffington Post article (archived here) was circulated by many Congress members, claiming she was sitting with gangster Abu Salem. He further stated that Ranaut and her supporters quickly debunked the claim, pointing out that Salem has been incarcerated since 2002.

On October 1, 2023, Ranaut had also clarified on X (archived here) that the individual next to her was not gangster Abu Salem but journalist Mark Manuel. “I don’t believe congress people really think he is the dreaded gangster Abu Salem hanging out with me casually in a mumbai bar. He is ex TOI entertainment editor his name is Mark Manuel (sic),” she wrote.

The collage below includes publicly available photos of Abu Salem and Mark Manuel and Abu Salem and shows that it was the latter who was photographed with Ranaut in the viral photo.

Abu Salem (left), Mark Manuel (center) and the viral image. (Source: The Indian Express/Instagram/ @markmanuel2609/ X)

The verdict

A 2017 photograph of actor-turned-politician Kangana Ranaut posing with entertainment journalist Mark Manuel has been falsely portrayed as evidence of Ranaut “partying” with the notorious gangster Abu Salem. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.

(This story was originally published by Logically Facts, and republished by NDTV as part of the Shakti Collective)

Mandi:

Bharatiya Janata Party candidate from Mandi, Kangana Ranaut, expressed her excitement about securing victory in the Lok Sabha elections.

She also hailed the BJP for adhering to strict protocols and fulfilling promises, while criticising other parties for not doing the same.

Kangana Ranaut, who is bidding for a maiden term in the Lok Sabha from her native Mandi, also expressed her excitement at the prospect of winning the MP of the Year award if she gets elected.

“As an actress, I have won various awards, including the Padma Shri and National awards. In the future, if I get elected, I will represent the opinions and problems of the people of Mandi and work effortlessly for them. Since the Lok Sabha conducts various award sessions, in the future, if I receive the Member of Parliament of the Year award, I will be very happy,” said Kangana Ranaut.

While hailing her party, the BJP, she added, “We take ‘Modi Ki Guarantee’ seriously and adhere to stricter guidelines from the party, which also prevent us from making false promises to win elections. I personally believe this level of integrity is not present in other parties.”

Addressing the problems of the people of Mandi, especially apple orchard owners, she added, “Himachal orchards are facing numerous challenges. Some owners advocate for an increase in the number of cold storage facilities, while others call for a rise in import duties. It is essential to address all these issues.”

While speaking to news agency ANI, she also stated that she is working on various film projects, the most recent one being ‘Emergency’.

“Currently, I am involved in several projects. I was shooting a film with R Madhavan Ji but I had to pause due to the elections and will resume post-election. Apart from that, I have 3-4 other films lined up in a row, including the Sita Trilogy and the biopic on Noti Binodini. I have also worked on the movie ‘Emergency,’ which is set to be released soon,” said Kangana Ranaut.

Kangana Ranaut is contesting elections from the Mandi Lok Sabha constituency. Traditionally, this seat has been a stronghold of the ruling Congress in the state. The decision to field Kangana Ranaut from Mandi adds a layer of intrigue to the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

In her maiden bid for membership of the Lower House, she faces a formidable challenge in the form of a Congress heavyweight and the son of the late former chief minister Virbhadra Singh, Vikramaditya Singh.

Polling in Himachal, which is scheduled for June 1, will not only elect candidates for Lok Sabha membership from four seats but also elect members for six assembly seats that fell vacant following the resignation and switchover of dissident Congress lawmakers.

The BJP, which won all four Lok Sabha constituencies in the state in the 2019 elections, is eyeing an encore this time.

The Mandi constituency holds symbolic significance for the Congress, as it is considered a bastion of the Virbhadra family. The seat is currently held by Pratibha Devi Singh, the late leader’s widow.

She wrested the seat for the Congress in the bye-election that was held following the demise of then-BJP MP Ram Swaroop Sharma.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

A quote which says that Bollywood actor and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate “Kangana Ranaut has problems with every actor except Narendra Modi,” has gone viral on social media.

The claim: Those sharing the statement have attributed it to Bollywood actor Naseeruddin Shah.

An archive of this post can be seen here.

At the time of writing this report, this post had gathered over 6.2 lakh views, 41,000 likes, and more than 6,600 shares.

The Quint also received queries for this quote’s verification on its WhatsApp tipline.

(Archives of more claims on social media can be seen here and here.)

But, Shah did not make this statement.

We found that the quote originated from a parody X account, which does not exist anymore.

Speaking to The Quint for an earlier fact-check, the actor’s wife, actor Ratna Pathak Shah, confirmed that her husband did not have an X account.

How did we find out?: Using the quote as keywords, we looked for information related to the source of the quote.

This led us to several posts from 2021 on Facebook, when the same claim went viral.One of these posts carried a screenshot of an X post, with the username ‘@naseruddin_shah’.

When we looked for this account on X, the platform said that the account did not exist anymore.

Old posts from the account: We looked for archives of the account using Wayback Machine, an internet archiving website.

This led us to some archived posts from 2021, one of which was a post showing support for farmers during the 2020-2021 protests.

In this post, the account’s display name carried the hashtag ‘#parody’, indicating that this was not Shah’s real account.

Misinformation from an imposter account: In 2021, Team WebQoof had gone through this account in a fact-check, when it had gained traction during the farmers’ protests, to check its authenticity.

We had found that the account used to operate with a different username, impersonating Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) Rakesh Tikait.

The Quint had also reached out the Shah’s wife, actor Ratna Pathak Shah, who told us that Naseeruddin Shah “does not have any Twitter account.”

Conclusion: A quote about actor Kangana Ranaut and PM Modi from a non-existent account impersonating actor Naseeruddin Shah has gone viral as a statement by Shah.

(This story was originally published by The Quint, and republished by NDTV as part of the Shakti Collective.)

Kangana Ranaut is sure. And says so is everybody else about Prime Minister Narendra Modi returning to power for a third straight term.  

“It has not happened in the history of our democracy where polling is underway, votes are yet to be counted, yet everybody knows PM Modi is coming back… Everyone is waiting for him to take oath for the third time, Ms Ranaut, BJP candidate from Mandi, told NDTV on Tuesday.

PM Modi, accompanied by a galaxy of leaders from party and alliance partners, filed his nomination from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh earlier today.

Varanasi will vote in the seventh and final phase of this election – on June 1. In the 2019 poll, PM Modi won by nearly 4.8 lakh votes, a big jump from the 3.72 lakh winning margin five years earlier.

Ms Ranaut, BJP candidate from Mandi, also filed her nomination today. Downplaying her nomination on the same day as the Prime Minister’s, she called it a “small coincidence” and a “good omen” for her.

“There were two good muhurat days, depending on your chart. I was suggested 10 and 14, and I chose 14 because I am number 5. And I  thought I should go with number 5. Luckily, today our PM also filed his nomination. A good coincidence for me. I will say it is my lucky charm.  I am thrilled. Even if it’s a small coincidence, it’s a good omen for me,” said the actor, making her electoral debut.

The Mandi constituency holds symbolic significance for the Congress, as it is considered a bastion of the Virbhadra family.

Ms Ranaut will square off against Congress’ Vikramaditya Singh, the son of late former chief minister Virbhadra Singh.

“I have been fortunate to have a very successful film career. Probably, I am the only one to have come from a rural area and make it so big in the film industry. I am quite optimistic that I learn the job pretty soon and will be able to do something significant,” she said about her priorities.

“Sabka saath, sabka vikas is our agenda. From airport to railways to coonnectivity…going to work on overall development,” she added.

The BJP, which won all four Lok Sabha constituencies in the state in the 2019 elections, is eyeing an encore this time.

New Delhi:

Actor Kangana Ranaut set ablaze Ravana’s effigy at Delhi’s famed Lav Kush Ramlila at the Red Fort on Tuesday, becoming the first woman to do so in the 50-year history of the event.

Kangana Ranaut set the effigy of the demon king ablaze by shooting an arrow and chanted ‘Jai Shri Ram’.

Scores of people, including a large number of women, had gathered at the venue to catch a glimpse of the actor.

#WATCH | Delhi: Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut attends ‘Ravan Dahan’ at Red Fort#Dussehrapic.twitter.com/skbsc2Pj4T

— ANI (@ANI) October 24, 2023

“In the 50-year history of the event held annually at the Red Fort, this is the first time that a woman has set the Ravana effigy on fire,” said Arjun Singh, president of Lav Kush Ramlila Committee of Delhi.

At the event, Kangana Ranaut also promoted her film “Tejas”, which is set to release on October 27.

She said the film is based on the life of Indian soldiers and their tough life.

“This movie will show how our Indian soldiers protect us and do not think before sacrificing their lives,” she said.

Written and directed by Sarvesh Mewara, “Tejas” features Ranaut in the role of an Indian Air Force pilot.

The film was previously scheduled to release in cinemas on October 20.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)