Fact check: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan Did Not Challenge PM Modi on Pakistan-India Military Conflict

In a wave of viral misinformation, a doctored video purportedly showing Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan questioning Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi about military losses during the Pakistan-India conflict has been exposed as false by fact-checkers.

The manipulated clip, which circulated widely on social media platform X beginning November 19, 2025, gained over 174,400 views after being shared by an account with a history of posting anti-Indian content and doctored videos.

In the falsified footage, the actress appeared to ask pointed questions about India’s military losses during the May 2025 conflict with Pakistan. “I want to ask Prime Minister Narendra Modi why we lost six jets to Pakistan? Why did we lose four Rafales to Pakistan?” the doctored audio stated, also claiming losses of S-400 systems, 300 soldiers, and territory in Kashmir and Rajasthan.

The fabricated clip spread rapidly across X, shared predominantly by political supporters of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and pro-military accounts, amplifying tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.

The Pakistan-India conflict referenced in the video had erupted in April 2025 following a deadly terrorist attack on tourists in occupied Kashmir. India blamed Pakistan for the incident, which Islamabad denied. The subsequent military exchanges between the two countries only ended after U.S. President Donald Trump helped broker a ceasefire in May.

Fact-checkers at iVerify Pakistan investigated the viral video through reverse image searches and keyword analysis, tracing the original footage to Rai Bachchan’s appearance at the centenary celebrations of Sri Sathya Sai Baba in Puttaparthi, Andhra Pradesh.

The authentic video, published by Indian news agency ANI Hindi News on November 19, shows Rai Bachchan delivering a completely different message: “There is only one caste, the caste of humanity. There is only one religion, the religion of love. There is only one language, the language of the heart, and there is only one God, and He is omnipresent.”

Further verification came from multiple sources. The actress herself had reposted the original footage on her X account that same day. Additionally, NDTV published her complete speech on YouTube under the title “Aishwarya Rai speaks on Sathya Sai Baba’s ‘Five Ds’ at Centenary Celebrations in Puttaparthi.”

Contrary to the false narrative, Rai Bachchan actually praised Modi during her speech and made no reference to the May conflict with Pakistan. The event received extensive coverage from prominent Indian media outlets including Times of India, Zee News, The Central Post, and India Herald, none of which reported any comments about military losses.

This incident highlights the growing challenge of AI-generated disinformation in a region with historically tense relations. The sophisticated audio manipulation made the fake clip convincing enough to gain significant traction before being debunked.

The spread of such falsified content underscores the heightened sensitivities surrounding the recent conflict between India and Pakistan, as well as the role social media platforms play in amplifying divisive narratives. It also demonstrates how celebrities and public figures can be weaponized in disinformation campaigns designed to inflame geopolitical tensions.

As AI technology becomes increasingly accessible, the ability to create convincing fake videos presents a growing challenge for fact-checkers, journalists, and the public. This case serves as a reminder of the importance of media literacy and verification in an era where seeing—and hearing—can no longer be automatically equated with believing.