Fact check: SRK seen with manager in viral pic from Lata Mangeshkar's funeral, not Gauri Khan

After the death of legendary singer Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar on Sunday, many eminent personalities, including Bollywood celebrities, attended the 92-year-old singer's funeral. Among the celebrities, Shah Rukh Khan was also seen attending the funeral.

King Khan was seen in the public after a long time, as the actor was avoiding public appearances since Aryan's Khan's drug case controversy. However, his appearance has caused some massive confusion among fans and followers on the internet.

The claim

Shah Rukh Khan was accompanied to the funeral by his manager, Pooja Dadlani. However, many people have assumed that the 'Raees' actor was with his wife, Gauri Khan. Multiple posts on Twitter showed Shah Rukh Khan praying next to Lata Mangeshkar's dead body after offering floral tribute to the singer with another woman clad in white attire standing and praying next to him.

"Shah Rukh Khan and wife Gauri pay their respects to Lata Mangeshkar. Beautiful," wrote a person in a tweet. Another person wrote, "This is India. Srk and his wife Gauri paying respects at Lata Mangeshkar's funeral."

Fact check

International Business Times reviewed those claims and deemed it fit to clear the air once and for all. The fact is that Gauri Khan did not even attend the funeral and the actor was accompanied by his manager Pooja Dadlani at the venue. While Shah Rukh raised his hands in dua, Pooja was seen joining her hands in prayer. Shah Rukh Khan's fans corrected many people online who had the misconception, letting them know that it was Pooja and not Gauri.

Upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that it is not Gauri. The hairstyle and complexion of Pooja are totally different from that of Gauri Khan. Even the height is a mismatch, giving a clear indication that SRK was accompanied by his manager and not Gauri to the funeral.

Pooja has been working with Shah Rukh for years now and she often shares photos with the Khan family on social media. She was recently spotted at a lunch date with Gauri, Farah Khan, Seema Khan, Neelam Kothari Soni, Maheep Kapoor and others. Sharing photos from their meet, she wrote, "Brunch with my favourite bunch... the Bollywood wives are just as much fun off screen... great food, great conversation and no gossip whatsoever."

Early in October 2021, Pooja was also in news during Aryan Khan's drugs case controversy and she was alleged to have paid a huge amount of Rs 50 lakh to an independent witness of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) after Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan was detained from a Goa-bound ship off Mumbai's coast.

Thus, after reviewing the evidence, International Business Times has concluded that it was Pooja Dadlani who was clicked with the actor and not his wife, Gauri Khan.