The death of veteran Bollywood actor Shashi Kapoor sent waves of grief and shock throughout the country on Tuesday.
News channels came up with packages looking back at some of his work, as images of his old films and songs he made iconic flashed on screen.
But something rather bizarre happened when BBC covered the news of Shashi’s death.
The news anchor announced his death and the screen cut to visuals of… Amitabh Bachchan from the 1976-film Kabhie Kabhie. And no, the visuals did not move on to Shashi Kapoor after that, but to Rishi Kapoor.
So, in the entire sequence, until the anchor moved on to the next news, there was no sign of Shashi Kapoor. Some people recorded the footage and questioned BBC’s ignorance on social media.
Watch the video here:
Looks like BBC, which is generally known for accurate and ethical reportage, seriously messed up this time. And the mix-up has not gone down well with Indians, who called BBC out for their ignorance. Many asked them to hire better researchers for their show.
I'm really annoyed about the BBC Shashi Kapoor thing. DOES ANYONE GIVE A DAMN? If you do, please tweet the editor @paulroyall
— Aasmah Mir (@AasmahMir) December 4, 2017
How could that be put together and signed off without checking that NEITHER of the actors in it were the correct one. How did no one notice it also had two completely different people in it?
— Maaiysa (@Maaiysa) December 4, 2017
I’m annoyed too, Aasmah. Shoddy journalism- at the very least. Not a co-incidence that it happens with BAME figures...it smacks of ‘they all look the same to me’. And the fact someone just can’t be arsed to get it right.
— Catherine Mitchell (@CathMitch14) December 5, 2017
Come on @paulroyall. Apology and correction required. Lazy journalism. Next time a white actor dies will you show clips from any other random white actors movies and expect no complaints?
— Debbie P (@bennybongo) December 4, 2017
@paulroyall I hope you now have a photograph of the real Shashi Kapoor? Poor man can't even rest in peace because the BBC credited another 'brown person ' with his work. #NotTheSame
— Graeme (@Lurganexile) December 4, 2017
This is Shashi Kapoor BBC News at 10. You presented wrong actors in your news clip @BBCNews #majorfail pic.twitter.com/mtSBaSqY4r
— sarwar (@SarwarO69) December 4, 2017
#BBCNewsTen Pretty poor work by BBC editors reporting actor Shashi Kapoor’s death. The videos showed Amithabh Bachan & Rishi Kapoor....Good Lord...they are alive... #BBCNewsTen
— ArunS (@bestbabydoc) December 4, 2017
#BBC News hire proper researchers! Report on legend #Shashi Kapoor's death and you show #Amitabh and his brother #Rishi Kapoor but no clip of him or his iconic movies. Call yourself a news channel?
— Mita Morris (@MitaMorris) December 4, 2017
Sad to hear about Shashi Kapoor’s sad passing..Even sadder that BBC showed Amitabh and Rishi Kapoor. Duffers!
— Prolatariat (@Prolatariat7) December 4, 2017
Dear @BBC just watched your inaccurate news coverage of Bollywood actor Shashi Kapoor’s death while you showed pictures of @SrBachchan & @chintskap in error! Could you please do your research more thoroughly & have some respect please!
— An Average Brit (@needsfixingnow) December 4, 2017
@BBCNews Shashi Kapoor dies and you show a clip of Amitabh Bachchan and then Rishi Kapoor. Why do I pay my licence fee for such shabby journalism? #bbc #shashikapoor
— Anjali Ewing (@AnjaliEwing) December 4, 2017
BBC 10 o'clock news showed a clip of @SrBachchan & Rishi Kapoor while announcing the death of veteran #Bollywood actor Shashi Kapoor, ignorance and sheer carelessness @BBCNews
— Subhajit Basu (@basu_subhajit) December 4, 2017
For nostalgia's sake, here's a photo of Shashi, Rishi and Amitabh Bachchan together, tweeted by the latter two years ago.
T 1855 -Shashi ji, Chintu and moi .. a moment I think from 'Kabhie Kabhi' .. a wedding sequence or an event .. Dunno pic.twitter.com/e793FCAh1z
— Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) May 4, 2015
BBC isn’t the only news channel to goof up. Times Now put out a tweet on Monday stating filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar remembered "Shashi Tharoor" for his work in parallel cinema. The Thiruvananthapuram MP, however, was quick to tweet saying that his office had been receiving condolence calls.
"Reports of my demise are, if not exaggerated, at least premature," Shashi Tharoor tweeted.
Times Now, however, put out a tweet apologising for a "typographical error".
"We apologize for the typographical error on our end. @ShashiTharoor we wish you good health," it said.
Shashi Kapoor was born as Balbir Raj Kapoor in March 18, 1938 to renowned actor Prithviraj Kapoor. He came from a family of actors - his brothers were the late Raj Kapoor and Shammi Kapoor.
Having worked as a child actor in Aag and Awaara, Shashi Kapoor debuted as a hero in the Dharmputra in 1961. He rose in popularity and was one of the top names in Bollywood in the 1970s and early 1980s.
Some of his famous and most iconic films include Deewar, Satyam Shivam Sundaram and Kabhie Kabhie.
He was married to Anglo-Indian actor Jennifer Kendal and is survived by his sons Karan and Kunal and daughter Sanjana Kapoor. The funeral is being held on Tuesday.