Old, edited images falsely claim to show Saif Ali Khan after the attack

The Verdict [False]
One of the two viral images is digitally manipulated, and the other shows Saif Ali Khan in his character’s look from the 2019 film Laal Kaptaan

What’s the claim?

Two images of Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan are going viral on social media with different narratives following a recent knife attack on him. The first image shows Khan lying on a hospital bed, with an image of another person visible in the left corner. This image is being shared as his “first picture” from the hospital after the incident. The second image shows him in a red-orange top, with a heavy beard and long hair, with visible wounds on his face and eye, and is being circulated as a post-attack photo.

The Hindi news channel Bharat Samachar shared a photo of Khan in a hospital bed on X, with a Hindi caption, translating to, “First photo of actor Saif Ali Khan from the hospital. Talked to the driver who saved my life on video call. ” At the time of writing this story, the post had garnered over 14,000 views and over 67 reposts. Archived versions of other such posts can be seen here and here.

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

An X user shared another picture and wrote in Hindi, which translates to, “Tell me, even after naming your sons Taimur and Jahangir, an unknown person came and beat you up.” Archived versions of other such posts can be found here, here, here, and here.

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

However, the image of Khan on the hospital bed has been digitally manipulated, and a photo of an auto driver has been added separately. The second image is not related to any real-life event but is instead his character in the 2019 film Laal Kaptaan.

In the early hours of January 16, 2025, Khan was attacked by a man with a knife in his Bandra house, after which he was admitted to Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai. Mumbai Police has arrested an accused in this case. On January 21, 2025, the actor was discharged from the hospital after undergoing surgery for sustained wounds after the attack.

How did we find out the truth?

Logically Facts conducted a Google search and found no evidence of any images depicting the alleged attack on the actor or from Lilavati Hospital, as claimed in social media posts.

Saif Ali Khan hospital image

The reverse image search of this picture led to the original photo on the social media platform Pinterest (archived here) with the caption, “Sick Bed Picture.” The original image closely resembles the now-viral photo claiming to show Khan on a hospital bed. Upon comparison, we found that both images’ mask, remote, white string, and clothing are identical, and Khan’s face has been digitally inserted into the original image. This confirms that the viral photo has been manipulated to attribute it to the actor falsely.

However, the Pinterest post does not provide any details about when the original image was taken or the actual identity of the person in it.

Screenshot of comparison between the viral image and the image on Pinterest. (Source: X/Pinterest/Modified by Logically Facts)

Additionally, the portrait of the auto driver in the top left corner of the viral image has been identified as Bhajan Singh, who has been featured in several media reports. Prominent outlets, including India Today, have interviewed Singh, the auto driver who reportedly took the actor to Lilavati Hospital, and a screenshot of the same conversation has been added to the viral image.

Screenshot of India Today video. (Source: India Today/Modified by Logically Facts)

Saif Ali Khan wounded image

A reverse image search showed that the photo depicting injury marks on Khan’s face and one eye was featured in several media reports from October 2019, including The Times of India and Amar Ujala. According to these reports, the image was part of Khan’s look for the 2019 Laal Kaptaan film. The photo has no connection to any real-life events.

Screenshot of a Times of India report published on October 7, 2019. (Source: Times of India/Screenshot)

The verdict

Saif Ali Khan’s viral images are unrelated to his recent attack. One is edited, and the other is a leaked photo from his 2019 movie character, Laal Kaptaan.

Read this fact-check in Hindi here.

(Translated by Umme Kulsum)

This article is written by Mohammad Salman and republished from Logically Facts. Read the original article here.

With inputs from Logically Facts as part of the Shakti Collective.