Bollywood actor Kartik Aaryan reacted to a morphed video of him endorsing the Congress party in the upcoming Madhya Pradesh elections and called it "fake". The video was originally shared by the OTT platform Disney+Hotstar last month for the ongoing ICC Men's World Cup. However, the same video was edited and dubbed in a manner that showed the actor supporting the political party for the upcoming state elections and instantly became viral on social media.
The original video depicts a billboard with Disney+Hotstar's images on it. However, the morphed video, on the other hand, displays Congress leader Kamal Nath on the billboard with the poll promise of two lakh government jobs and a free loan of Rs 50,000. Further, it shows a woman highlighting other poll promises for women including free bus service, assistance of Rs 1,500 per month and LPG cylinders at Rs 500. The voiceover in the video has also been done in a manner which benefits the campaign and aligns with the dialogues of the Gwalior-born actor.
A source close to Mr Aaryan said in a statement, "There is a morphed version of a Kartik Aaryan ad floating on social media that the actor had done for a streaming platform. The video is misleading and mischievous and is being used to claim political affiliations on behalf of the actor. Kartik has no such affiliations with any political group whatsoever."
The 'Shehzaada' actor also took to X, formerly Twitter, to clear the air around the viral video. He shared the video of the original advertisement and wrote, This is the REAL AD @DisneyPlusHS. Rest all is Fake."
Meanwhile, the actor was last seen in 'Satyaprem Ki Katha'. He will next be seen in 'Chandu Champion' directed by Kabir Khan. In August, he shared the first look from the movie. Dressed in a uniform, Mr Aaryan looked grim in the first-look poster. There were bruises on his face. Without divulging much details, Mr Aaryan wrote in the caption, "When INDIA is written on your chest, it's a DIFFERENT feeling Proud to be playing a Real Hero. A Man Who Refuses To Give Up." The film is slated to release next year.