India TV Fact Check: A scene from Allu Arjun and Rashmika Mandanna starrer mass action entertainer Pushpa 2 The Rule is going viral on social media platforms with the claim that Indian cricketer Krunal Pandya has appeared in the film. However, when India TV fact-checked this claim, this claim has been proved to be false.
What is going viral?
There’s a lot of buzz on social media with users sharing screenshots from the film Pushpa-2, claiming that cricketer Krunal Pandya has made a remarkable acting debut. One user, Kishan, wrote on X, “Krunal Pandya was great in Pushpa 2.” Meanwhile, another user, RajmaChawal, mentioned, “No one noticed Krunal Pandya's cameo in Pushpa 2.” Many other users are also sharing similar pictures, and making similar claims.
India TV investigated
The claim that Krunal Pandya acted in Pushpa 2 went viral on social media for several days. To investigate this claim, we used Google Open Search and searched for information related to Krunal Pandya’s involvement in the film. According to a news article published by India TV, the actor whom people are mistaking for Krunal Pandya is actually 'Tarak Ponnappa'. There is a lot of similarity in the looks of Tarak and Krunal. Due to this, people are sharing pictures considering them as one.
Tarak Ponnappa has played the role of villain named ‘Bugga Reddy’ in Pushpa-2. To further clarify, we visited Tarak Ponnappa’s Instagram account. Here, we found that Tarak had shared a screenshot of a post by cricketer Krunal Pandya dated December 11. This post discusses the claims being circulated on social media. The interaction made it clear that the person people are mistaking for Krunal Pandya is actually actor Tarak Ponnappa.
What came out in the Fact Check?
A fact check conducted by India TV has revealed that the photo that is being circulated on social media as Krunal Pandya's is actually that of actor Tarak Ponnappa. Krunal Pandya has not acted in Pushpa-2. People are advised to be cautious of such claim.
Also Read: Fact Check: Has Patna's famous teacher Khan Sir passed away? | Know truth of viral claim
