Deepfake video of Rashmika Mandanna shocks social media users. Veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan calls for legal action.
Amitabh Bachchan has strongly advocated for decisive action in response to a deepfake video featuring Rashmika Mandanna that has recently circulated on social media. The video in question portrays a woman dressed in black inside an elevator, with her appearance manipulated through artificial intelligence (AI) to resemble Rashmika.
Amitabh took to the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) to retweet a post from a user, underscoring the pressing need for a legal and regulatory framework to address the issue of deepfakes in India, particularly in light of the widespread circulation of the fabricated video featuring Rashmika. In response to this post, the veteran actor, who had collaborated with Rashmika in her inaugural Hindi film, “Goodbye” (2022), shared the deepfake video and emphasized, “Yes, this is a strong case for legal intervention.”
The individual depicted in the video is a British woman named Zara Patel, who boasts a substantial following on various social media platforms and had originally uploaded the video the previous month. A user named Abhishek on X shared more information, stating, “There is an immediate requirement for a legal and regulatory framework to address the issue of deepfakes in India. You might have come across this viral video of actress Rashmika Mandanna on Instagram. However, this is a deepfake video of Zara Patel. This thread contains the genuine video.” He further elucidated,
“The authentic video features Zara Patel, a British-Indian individual with 415K followers on Instagram. She posted this video on Instagram on 9th October.” Abhishek highlighted, “From a deepfake perspective, the viral video is deceptively convincing, making it easy for everyday social media users to be misled. Nevertheless, if you observe the video closely, you can discern at (0:01) that Rashmika (as depicted in the deepfake) undergoes an abrupt transformation from the other girl to Rashmika.”
While Rashmika has not yet responded to this incident, numerous users on the X platform have expressed shock and outrage regarding the deepfake video. One X user remarked, “Yeah, it’s incredibly subtle. Pay attention to the eyebrows.” Another user commented, “This is genuinely alarming.” Furthermore, an individual tweeted,
“The utilization of deepfake technology to produce inappropriate videos is deeply disconcerting and constitutes a violation of privacy and consent. It is imperative that legal action be pursued in such cases. The individuals responsible for generating and disseminating these videos must be held accountable under the law. Cyber laws often encompass such instances of digital impersonation and image misuse, and cooperation with legal authorities is a necessary step to safeguard the rights of the affected individuals and ensure that justice prevails.”
