Terrible mix-ups can be terrible

There are quite a few instances of mistaking someone for another and having to face terrible consequences for the mix-up. In the Mahabharat, it may seem fortunate that the Pandavs and their mother Kunti escaped the lakshagriha - house made of flammable lacquer - which Duryodhan had got constructed only to burn it down with the Pandavs inside it. For the bhil woman and her five sons who took shelter after the Pandavs had slunk away and before the house burned - and who were later mistaken for the royal six - however, it wasn't a lucky night at all. More recently, the Mohun Bagan and Indian national team footballer Amrinder Singh had to face a mix-up by social media users with former Punjab CM Amarinder Singh. 'Please stop tagging me,' the goalkeeper had to plead. Red Riding Hood mistaking the Wolf for her grandmother could have avoided further unpleasantries if the girl had been paying a bit more attention.

Generally mixing up actors such as Arjun Rampal for John Abraham can't be explained along 'racial lines' usually attributed to identifying Samuel L Jackson as Lawrence Fishburne, or Julie Christie as Julie Andrews - and vice versa. So, to mistake Daniel McAdams for Bohdan Nahaylo, while letting out an Exorcist-style projectile word vomit, is unfortunate, but hardly new.