Newschecker: Several social media users are circulating a 59-second clip of an interview of Nepalese actor Manisha Koirala, who recently collaborated with director Sanjay Leela Bhansali after 28 years for his OTT debut Heeramandi. According to the claims and the subtitles provided in the video, the Bollywood actor is supporting Hindu Rashtra and alluding to how the “leftist/Communist and Congress type democracy/govts destroyed Nepal”.
Claim:
“We [Nepal] were a Hindu nation. And the only Hindu nation. Our best identity is that we were a Hindu nation. And in our country there has never been a fight even about religion. That there is no war here, there is no killing and no fight. We were a peaceful Hindu nation with no conflicts. Why was it removed from it? I mean I was made to feel like it was all a conspiracy…,” she purportedly says.
Investigation:
Newschecker first ran the video past a Nepali speaker who confirmed the subtitles were to a greater or lesser degree accurate.
We next ran a reverse image search of keyframes, which led us to this Youtube video, uploaded by Kathmandu-based Yoho TV on November 16, 2022, of a talk show, “Satya Sambad”, where the host, Jibram Bhandari, interviews Koirala. The viral excerpt can be seen from the 20:40 mark, which confirms that it predates the ongoing Lok Sabha elections and was from the run-up to the Nepal general elections that were held on November 20, 2022, to elect the 275 members of the House of Representatives.
We then learnt that Koirala had in November 2022 campaigned for the pro-Hindu Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) during the general elections there, saying the exclusion of traditional and nationalist forces in the name of the progressive politics has caused huge damage to the country. The fifth-largest party in the country’s parliament had earlier this year announced a campaign to reinstate Nepal as a Hindu kingdom and the restoration of monarchy, which saw protests break out soon after.
We also ran a keyword search for “Manisha Koirala Hindu Rashtra”, which led us to this Indian Express report, dated March 26, 2010, headlined, “Manisha unhappy with Hindu Nepal becoming secular state”. Nepal was declared a secular state in 2007 by their parliament.
Conclusion: Old clip from interview with Manisha Koirala ahead of Nepal general elections in 2022 falsely linked to 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
(This story was originally published by newschecker, and republished by Lighthouse Journalism as a part of the Shakti Collective)
