Rashmika Mandanna's Deepfake Goes Viral; Amitabh Bachchan Calls for Legal Action

Actor Rashmika Mandanna was recently morphed in a video that has gone viral on the internet.

Rashmika Mandanna's deepfake video goes viral.

(Photo Courtesy: Instagram)

A deepfake video showing actor Rashmika Mandanna dressed in a black top and entering a lift has gone viral on social media, prompting veteran Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan to call for legal action. 

The deepfake video was shared by a journalist on 5 November, who pointed out the "urgent need for a legal and regulatory framework to deal with deepfake in India."

Responding to the journalist, Bachchan called for "legal actions".

Deepfakes are digitally altered videos in which the face or body of a person are edited to make it seem like someone else. The advancements in artificial intelligence have made deepfake videos very accurate.

The video was originally shared on Instagram on 8 October by a British-Indian social media influencer named Zara Patel.

It was later altered with Mandanna's image. The identity of the creator of the deepfake video has not been discovered yet.

"I feel really hurt to share this and have to talk about the deepfake video of me being spread online," Mandanna wrote on Instagram.

After the video went viral, fans and social media users raised their concerns.

'Deepfakes Most Dangerous': IT Minister

Union Minister for Electronics and Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar also responded to the post on X.

He said, “Under the IT rules notified in April, 2023, it is a legal obligation for platforms to: ensure no misinformation is posted by any user AND, ensure that when reported by any user or govt, misinformation is removed in 36 hrs. If platforms do not comply with this, rule 7 will apply and platforms can be taken to court by aggrieved persons under provisions of IPC [Indian Penal Code].

"Deepfakes are the latest and even more dangerous and damaging form of misinformation and needs to be dealt with by platforms,” he added.