Things cannot get sadder than this. Soon after it was confirmed that veteran actor Shashi Kapoor, 79, passed away, news portals was quick to report the legendary actor's departure. Considering his popularity had no boundaries, the news of his demise shocked the world and tributes began pouring in.
While celebrities shared their sorrow over the news of his death, a few news outlets goofed it up, attracting major flak online.
We earlier reported how Times Now's Twitter handle confused Shashi Kapoor with Congress MP Shashi Tharoor. Now, international news agency BBC confused the late actor with his co-star Amitabh Bachchan, and his nephew, Rishi Kapoor.
A clipping paying tribute to the actor was recorded and shared online, but it carried the wrong footage. The video went viral in no time. In the video, the Deewar star was nowhere to be seen. Instead, it featured a scene from Kabhi Kabhi starring Amitabh Bachchan and another song from the 70s featuring Rishi.
Hang on @bbcnews Shashi Kapoor has died not Amitabh Bachan or Rishi Kapoor, who you've weirdly used to illustrate the story. pic.twitter.com/48jo6DGjU6
— Media Diversified (@WritersofColour) December 4, 2017
This sparked an outrage on Twitter with numerous users demanding an apology from the channel for disrespecting the legendary actor.
"C'mon!!! We don't all look the same!!" pointed out one. "I was sitting there thinking "why the hell are they showing classic footage of Amitabh @SrBachchan"....and then realised that the person responsible for obituaries @BBCNews may indeed not be able to tell the difference," wrote another.
"Shame that such an iconic actor from the golden age of Bollywood gets this treatment," shared a user.
The increasing outrage eventually led to people tweeting to BBC news editor Paul Royall and soon an apology was issued.
"#BBCNewsTen is very sorry wrong images were used to mark the death of Shashi Kapoor. Not our usual standards and I apologise for any upset," he wrote.
#BBCNewsTen is very sorry wrong images were used to mark the death of Shashi Kapoor. Not our usual standards and I apologise for any upset.
— Paul Royall (@paulroyall) December 4, 2017
Shashi Kapoor's last rites were performed on Tuesday, December 5, in the presence of many renowned Bollywood personalities. Check out the photos here.
