A disturbing video showing a man hanging upside-down from a tree and being set on fire has gone viral on social media. Those sharing the video claim it shows a Muslim man named Abu Bakr being burnt to death in Gujarat. The graphic visuals have been shared widely on Facebook with captions alleging communal violence and religious persecution.
Social media posts claim the video shows the real-life burning of a Muslim man named Abu Bakr in Gujarat. The video has been shared with captions such as “Abubakar (2) of Gujarat is being burnt to death” on platforms including Facebook.
SouthCheck investigated the claim and found it to be false. The video does not depict any real incident; it is behind-the-scenes (BTS) footage from the shooting of a Malayalam action film.
On a Google reverse image search, we found that the same video was shared by a YouTube channel named Shajeel Kabeer on May 30.
The video was shared with a caption suggesting that it is the scene of a movie, Kattalan. The caption reads, “KATTALAN BTS #film #filmmaking #filmphotography #acting #actor #pepe #viralvideo #viral #kochi”
At the 25-second mark of the video, a person wearing special protective gear can be seen using a fire extinguisher to spray on the burned individual and helping him down from a tree. Shortly after, the person who was hanging from the tree is seen smiling and giving a thumbs-up without any visible injuries. This is clear evidence that no real harm occurred.
The YouTube account has also posted multiple other behind-the-scenes videos from the same production. The bio of the page reads, “Cinematographer travelling fooding.”
What is Kattalan?
Further verification confirms that ‘Kattalan’ (Forest Ruler) is a 2026 Indian Malayalam-language action thriller film directed by Paul George and produced by Shareef Muhammed under Cubes Entertainments.
The film is a standalone spin-off and the third instalment in the Mikhael Extended Universe, following Mikhael (2019) and Marco (2024). It stars Antony Varghese (Pepe) in the lead role and was released on May 28.
Another Instagram page, Malayalam Movie Hub, also shared the video, suggesting that it is behind the scenes of a movie. The bio of the page reads, “Movie Frames | Dialogues | Posters |Memes | Video bits | Reviews | Critics.”
Therefore, the claim is false.
