Hundreds of entertaining farces and movies that centre on identification blunders have been produced in several languages over the years across the world.
| Photo Credit: SREEJITH R. KUMAR
Mistaken identity has the dubious distinction of being good in literature and not so good in real life. In fiction, this subject has been a staple of classic comedies for centuries. On the other hand, in reality, mistaken identity is rarely a source of entertainment as it can lead to embarrassing mix-ups, wrongful convictions, and tragic events.
Familiar cases of mix-up of identity involve two similarly looking persons or two persons with the same name. Years ago, twin brothers R. and K. were working as clerks in the same department of a government office in which I was working. They were so much alike that it was difficult to distinguish one from the other. A newly appointed officer who took charge of their section solved the problem, by asking R. to attend office wearing a coat and directing K. not to use a coat.
In my school days, there were two students in my class whose names and initials were the same as mine. My class teacher preferred to affix number 1 to my name and allot numbers 2 and 3 to my namesakes.
In my small village, residents could easily identify their neighbours by sight. There have been instances when a visiting stranger found moving about suspiciously was either punished or driven out by the villagers. However, this method of identifying people proved dangerous at times, due to human error. In a recent incident, a 40-year-old man was allegedly lynched by villagers who mistook him for a thief. In another case, mistaken identity claimed the life of an upright man when armed assailants killed the wrong target.
Recently, in a highly bizarre incident near Chennai, an elderly woman who was supposed to be dead in a rail accident returned home even as her final rites were being performed by her relatives. This faux pas was due to wrong identification of a mutilated body at the scene of the accident by the son of the woman. A few years ago, mistaken identity had cost an innocent cricketer the chance to bag an IPL contract; in a curious twist of fate, one of the two cricketers who shared similar names suffered because of misreporting of an incident in a section of the media. A young man attempted suicide recently as his photograph was published in the newspapers by mistake in lieu of that of a suspect in a dramatic daylight heist of over ₹7 crore.
There have been many legal cases in India involving mistaken identity. Often wrongful convictions happen when an eyewitness incorrectly identifies the arrested person. Erroneous identification remains a significant legal defence in many cases. For instance, in a narcotics case, a woman was acquitted by the Supreme Court as the prosecution failed to prove the identity of the arrested person beyond a reasonable doubt. Courts are increasingly scrutinising identification evidence and holding that a person cannot be convicted for the crime of another, especially when there is a fundamental error in identification. Advances in forensic science, such as fingerprint analysis, have, therefore, become crucial in establishing or disproving identity in mistaken identity cases.
Talking of mistaken identity in literature, the first thing that comes to mind is Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors in which two sets of identical twins who were separated at birth cause confusion among themselves and others. Inspired by plays of this kind by Shakespeare and others, hundreds of entertaining farces and movies that centre on identification blunders have been produced in several languages over the years across the world.
Dual role is a popular technique adopted in hilarious Indian films. Gemini Production’s magnum opus Apoorva Sagodharargal (1949) was one of the early Tamil films that surprised viewers by the adoption of this technique. A similar picture produced much later, starring Kamal Hassan, was a box-office hit. The way to face mistaken identity in real life depends on the situation in which one is placed. You could correct a person verbally if he mistook you for somebody else. If accosted by a law enforcing authority, the best way to resolve the issue is to produce your ID with other supporting documents, if need be.
Published – January 11, 2026 02:55 am IST
