Fact Check: Actor Gagan Malik has not become a monk, viral post is misleading.
Social media users are sharing a post claiming that famous Indian television actor Gagan Malik has been ordained and become a monk in Thailand.
By Newsmeter Network Published on 13 Feb 2022 10:50 AM GMT
Hyderabad: Social media users are sharing a post claiming that famous Indian television actor Gagan Malik has been ordained and become a monk in Thailand.
The viral post reads, "Famous Indian Television Actor Shri Gagan Malik have ordained monk in Thailand. Such a luckiest moment as a Buddhist to have such opportunity in life to practice monastic life and the Dhamma. We are happy to see his act which will inspire to many youths to become monk (sic)."
It should be noted that Gagan Malik played the role of Buddha in the film 'Sri Siddhartha Gauthama'.
Fact Check:
The claim is misleading.
NewsMeter ran a keyword search for 'Gagan Malik Monkhood' on Google and found a YouTube video titled 'Sri Siddhartha Gautama Gagan Malik Ordination Monkhood I Mettavalokanaya' by Shifu International. The description of the video clearly says that Malik has entered a 'temporary monkhood'. It says, "This is Gagan Malik's temporarily monkhood until to February 24, 2022, and he will spend the next 15 days as a monk in Bangkok, Thailand (sic)."
We checked Malik's Instagram account and found a post confirming that he is embracing monkhood for 15 days. He wrote, "Time to know inner self. Trying to learn the essence of Dhamma of Buddha. Becoming a monk for 15 days from 10th Feb to 24th Feb in Thailand. Wat Tha Thong Royal Monastery Bangkok."
As per IMDb, Gagan Malik is an actor and assistant director known for 'Rachna No Dabbo', 'Vaisakhi List', and 'Sri Siddhartha Gautama' among others. He bagged the best actor award at the World Buddhist Film Festival organised by the UN for his role as Lord Buddha in the 2013 Sinhalese film 'Sri Siddhartha Gauthama', according to the Bangkok Post.
The keyword search also led to several news reports about the actor becoming a monk. According to a report by The Thaiger, dated 10 February 2022, "The actor, Gagan Malik, will only live as a monk for 15 days, but he's serious about spreading Buddhist teachings."
The Bangkok Post, in a report titled 'Temple ordains Indian star who played Buddha' from 11 February 2022, said Malik was "was ordained yesterday at 10 am with a handful of close friends in attendance and will remain in the monkhood for 15 days until Feb 24."
Hence, the claim that actor Gagan Malik has been ordained is false. He entered 'temporary' monkhood for 15 days till 24 February.
