Fact Check: Is This Really PM Modi Getting a Face Massage?
A viral video claiming to show PM Modi getting a face massage turns out to be nothing of the sort — the man in the clip is simply a Modi lookalike. The video was originally posted on Instagram by a woman named Pardeep Kaur, featuring her partner. Madhu Kishwar, former editor of Manushi, shared the clip on X and faced an FIR after the post sparked controversy.
A video claiming to feature Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been making rounds on social media for the past few days. The clip shows an elderly, white-bearded man receiving a face massage from a woman. The video has spread widely across Facebook and X. But is the person in the video actually PM Modi? Let’s find out.
The Claim
The 15-second video was spotted on a Facebook account named ‘Ali Mekalady’, posted on April 19 with the caption claiming that a video of Modi getting a face massage had gone viral on social media. The account has around 15,000 followers. By April 21, the video had crossed one lakh views from that account alone, with 553 likes, 76 comments, and nearly 400 shares.
Comments on the post included remarks like “Is this from the Epstein files?” and “The massage cost 18 lakhs.”
A reverse image search confirmed the video was circulating widely on both X and Facebook, in Malayalam, English, and Hindi. The video was also found on an X account called ‘Sonu Singh’ — which has very few followers — posted two days earlier.
The post directly tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi, claiming that his video had been leaked. In all cases, the same 15-second clip was being shared across accounts. The video has also been posted by several other Facebook and Instagram accounts with large followings.
How did we verify
The video actually originated from an Instagram account — pardeep.kaur.dhillon — where it was posted on April 12 under the hashtag #Massage time.
Most of the comments on the original post also claimed that the person in the video was indeed Modi. However, a closer look at the account told a different story. The profile belongs to a woman named Pardeep Kaur, and it features numerous photos and videos of the same couple seen in the viral clip. Their posts suggest they are partners.
The man bears a striking physical resemblance to PM Modi. The account also shows that she had posted similar massage videos before this one.
The online news portal News Hour India had also reported on this, with a clarification video establishing that the person in the viral clip is not Modi. Pardeep Kaur herself shared this clarification on her account as well.
To put it plainly, the video going viral on social media has nothing to do with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It is a personal Instagram video of a man who simply resembles Modi, being spread with false and misleading claims. This is an entirely fabricated narrative.
Madhu Purnima Kishwar — former editor of the feminist publication Manushi and a known BJP sympathiser — had shared the video on her X account, but deleted it after it sparked controversy. However, a complaint was filed against her by Satinder Singh, a former BJP councillor and lawyer from Chandigarh, alleging that she had shared the video with false and misleading captions targeting PM Modi. Based on this complaint, a case was registered against her.
Madhu Kishwar was one of India’s prominent feminist activists during the 1980s and 90s. Her shift toward right-wing politics had surprised many in Indian social and political circles. Though she had long been a vocal Modi supporter, she had recently begun making public criticisms against him as well.
Chandigarh Police registered an FIR against Madhu Kishwar on April 19 for sharing the misleading video.
(This is an AI-assisted translation of an article originally written in Malayalam, produced under editorial supervision).
