Fact Check: SRK did not say he is ‘Not Hindustani’, viral video is clipped

Shah Rukh Khan’s “Jawan”, much like his previous film “Pathaan”, has led to a flood of misinformation about the film and the actor himself. One such post raises questions about Khan’s nationalism.

In a short clip that’s been widely shared, Khan can be heard saying, “Asalam Alaikum, I have been taught the Quran from childhood and I have made an effort to understand it and walk the path that Allah has taught us. I’m very very, proud to be a good Muslim. Insha Allah” Those sharing the video also claimed that SRK said, “I am Muslim and Pakistani,” and, “Not Hindu and Hindustani.” The archived version of one such post can be seen here.

India Today found that the video in question has been clipped and taken out of context from a 2009 speech by the actor. Nowhere in the original speech did he declare himself to be Pakistani or disassociate himself from being a Hindustani.

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With the help of a keyword search, we found a longer version of the video shared on a Facebook page on November 26, 2022. In this version of the video, we could see the logo of NDTV and “26/11: Remembrance” written on the screen. The location of the event was stated as “India Gate”. Also, according to this post, the video was from an event organised to remember the martyrs of the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack.

We found the complete video of the event uploaded to the website of NDTV on November 29, 2009. According to NDTV, the video was from an event organised to pay homage to those who lost their lives in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack.

In this video, apart from Khan, then-Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit, lyricist Javed Akhtar, musician Shankar Mahadevan, actor Nandita Das, singer Shreya Ghoshal, and tennis star Sania Mirza, among many others were present. Khan started his speech around the 44-minute mark of the video.

At the beginning of the speech, he said, “Assalam Alaikum. I'm often asked nowadays, probably you are asked the same thing, what is your opinion on terrorism? I find this a very strange question because no one can have a difference of opinion on terrorism. Maybe because I'm a Muslim, people ask me to make sure my opinion is the same as theirs. I've been taught the Quran from childhood and I've made an effort to understand it and to walk the path that Allah has taught us. I’m very, very proud to be a good Muslim.” It is this last line which has been used in the now-viral video.

However, after that, he went on to reflect on the diverse cultural and religious experiences he had had in India. He said in the speech, “But this country has also taught me a lot of things. In the street where I lived, people like Sharma ji have taught me the Gita. In my neighbourhood Ram Lilas, I've played the role of a monkey in the monkey army. I was taught Christianity in my school. I made a film on Buddhism with my friends and my wife is a Punjabi Hindu. Through all these relationships and friendships, I've become a better human being. I've become an Indian and I'm very, very proud to be an Indian.”

In this concluding part of the speech, the actor also reflected on the lessons his father, a freedom fighter, taught him about religions promoting harmony and the commonality between Ishwar and Allah. He said some individuals have distorted religions into forms of terrorism, and emphasised the moral duty of all religious believers to eradicate terrorism and choose life over death.

Nowhere in the video did he say that he was a Pakistani or that he was not a Hindustani. Thus, it’s clear that the viral claim is absolutely baseless.