Fact Check: This video does not show first look of Mumbai's famous Lalbaugcha Raja Ganesha idol
Every year during Ganesh Chaturti, hundreds of people throng Mumbai’s Lalbaugcha Raja to get a glimpse of the Ganesha idol.
By Newsmeter Network Published on 12 Sept 2021 1:42 PM IST
Hyderabad: Every year during Ganesh Chaturti, hundreds of people throng Mumbai's Lalbaugcha Raja to get a glimpse of the Ganesha idol. This year the Lalbaugcha Raja Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal unveiled a four-feet idol instead of the usual 14-feet. Amidst this, a video that claims to show the first look of 2021's Lalbaugcha Raja has been circulating on social media.
Netizens are sharing the video with the caption, "Lalbaugcha Raja First Darshan 2021 Ganpati Bappa Morya."
Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan had also shared the video. However, he did not say that it shows the "first look" of the 2021 idol. The video has garnered at least 1.3 million views at the time of writing this article (archive).
Fact Check
The claim is false. The video is from 2016.
NewsMeter performed a reverse image search and found a YouTube video report by India TV from September 2016 that had the same visuals. It shows the first day prayers at the Lalbaugcha Raja in 2016. Notice that the idol and the backgrounds match the viral video. The same video was also uploaded on the official YouTube page of Lalbaugcha Raja and by India today in 2016.
The 2021 Lalbaugcha Raja's first look was streamed by Loksatta Live on 10 September 2021. The photos of this year's Ganesha idol were published by Times Now News and The Times of India and they do not match the one in the viral video. This year the idol is four feet instead of the usual 14 feet as shown in the viral video.
It is clear that the viral video does not show the first look of this year's Ganesha idol in Lalbaugcha Raja, Mumbai. Thus, the claim is false.
