When ‘Robert Downey Jr’ walked around Chennai

Over the last few days, social media has been abuzz with photos of fallen trees, blocked roads, waterlogged streets and impact of Cyclone Vardah on the lives of people. But on December 14, a different photograph became a topic of intense discussion and debate on the various social media platforms. A photo, taken at a popular eatery in Phoenix MarketCity Velachery, of a muscled and bearded man eating a dessert, went viral in the evening owing to string of hilarious comments. This man looked like none other than the Iron Man himself, Robert Downey Jr. 

As he walked around the mall, he was accosted by a crowd and this man apparently obliged them by posing for selfies. But we wondered whether a Hollywood star would be walking around without any security and be so oblivious to his star status. On doing a bit of background check we found out that he was not Robert Downey Jr. but Albert Serrato, a smalltime Hollywood actor. He had checked into Savera hotel at RK Salai on December 13 for a wedding in Chennai. The staff at the hotel later put all rumours to rest by checking his passport and revealing his identity. 

Interestingly, even Phoenix MarketCity got caught in a case of mistaken identity when they circulated photos of this actor across media houses as Robert Downey Jr. They also put photos on their Facebook page and captioned it as, ‘Genius. Billionaire. Playboy. Philanthropist. The Iron Man himself, Robert Downey Jr. visited Phoenix Market City.’