By Srijit Das
A video of two women applying Holi colours on each other while performing a choreographed dance, is a real video shot inside a packed Delhi metro car, and not a deepfake as stated by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC). The video is also being shared with a false claim that it was shot in the Kolkata metro.
BOOM was able to confirm that the video was not created using deepfake technology but shot in one of the Delhi Metro coaches with the women performing a dance which involved applying Holi colours to each other.
The DMRC released the clarification after the video went viral, with several people tagging them demanding an action against the women in the video. The DMRC in its statement called the video a work of deepfake and further said that it was analysing the footage and expressed concerns over potential violations of its policies.
The viral video shows two women in traditional attire sitting and applying Holi colours to each other in a Delhi Metro coach, as passengers look on. The song Ang Laga De can be heard in the background.
We reached out to one of the women, Preeti Morya, seen dancing in the video and the videographer Anwar, who shot the reel. Speaking to BOOM, both of them confirmed that the video was recorded inside a Delhi metro coach while it was near the Kashmere Gate metro station.
Several news outlets including The Times Of India, The Indian Express, NDTV, WION published the DMRC statement questioning the authenticity of the viral video which said, “Prima facie, the authenticity of the shooting of this video inside the metro also seems doubtful as deep fake technology may have been used to create this content”.
Other news outlets Hindustan Times, India Today also reported the same, attributing it to the news agency Press Trust of India (PTI).
The video is also being shared with a Bangla caption on Facebook, "Holi in Kolkata metro".
Click here to view post.
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Fact Check
We noticed several signs that the video was shot in the Delhi metro and was in fact a real video, not a deepfake. BOOM has debunked both the claims below.
CLAIM 1 : VIDEO FROM KOLKATA METRO
The interiors and the signboards seen in the background of the video confirm that it is a Delhi metro car, not Kolkata metro. We identified that the signboard inside the coach displays the Red line along with the logo of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).
The logo and the route details of the Red line metro can be seen in several places of the video.
CLAIM 2 : VIDEO IS A DEEPFAKE
BOOM was able to ascertain that the viral video is not a deepfake but a staged performance shot inside a Delhi metro car.
We first noticed that commuters in the background can be seen staring at the two women, laughing at them with one woman also seen recording the whole act. Two such instances can be seen below.
A specific keyword search related to Delhi Metro + Holi on Instagram led us to a reel posted by one of the women performing in the video. The account Preeti Morya (preeti.morya.7145) on on March 21, 2024, put up the video as a reel with a caption, "Happy Holi" and had tagged one account @preeti.morya.714.
We then went through the tagged account and found that this was the original account with the above a backup account. In this, a longer version of the viral video, showing the same sequences had been uploaded on March 21, 2024. This reel had three accounts tagged in the same, two backup accounts of the preeti.morya account and one Km Vineeta (@kmvineeta269); the second woman in the viral video.
We were also able to confirm the identities of the individuals in the video: the woman on the left is Preeti Morya, and the woman on the right is KM Vineeta.
Click here to view an archive of the post.
In her bio, Preeti Morya who has over three lakh followers describes herself as a video creator and dancer. The bio also includes links to her Facebook profile and YouTube account. Both the profiles featured several videos where both the women, as in the viral video are seen performing at public places like malls, railway stations and public sidewalks.
We also noticed several other such Instagram viral reel makers featured in the video, with their accounts reposting the content. One such account tagged in a post, "@vicky_raj_0786" run by an Anwar Rahi Khan responded to BOOM and said that the video was a real one and identified the women as Preeti Morya and Vineeta. Khan said, "I was with both of them in the metro and I was the one who recorded it on my camera," he said.
He also connected us to Preeti Morya, the woman seen in a saree, on the left in the video who confirmed to BOOM that the video was real and shot inside the metro. "We filmed the video inside the Delhi metro. The recording took place near the Kashmere Gate metro station."
Additionally, we came across an X post where a user shared a picture of the same women, women inside the metro car, sitting on the floor, dressed in the same attire as in the viral video.
Click here to view an archive of the post.
(With Inputs From Sista Mukherjee)
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