Rashmika Mandanna says 'really hurt' over deepfake video, Amitabh Bachchan demands legal action
Mumbai, Nov 6: Reacting to her viral deepfake video, South star Rashmika Mandanna on Monday said it is "extremely scary" how technology is being misused, while her "Goodbye" co-star Amitabh Bachchan called for legal action.
Bachchan was the first to react after a fact checker posted the deepfake clip along with the original video of a British-Indian social media personality Zara Patel, and demanded an urgent need for a legal and regulatory framework to deal with deepfakes in India Reacting to the post, Bachchan said, "Yes this is a strong case for legal".
Mandanna also expressed her concern through Instagram, saying she was "really hurt" to see the video, which shows a woman dressed in black workout onesie inside an elevator. Her face has been edited using artificial intelligence (AI) to resemble Mandanna.
"I feel really hurt to share this and have to talk about the deep fake video of me being spread online. Something like this is honestly extremely scary not only for me but also for each one of us who today is vulnerable to so much harm because of how technology is being misused," the actor, known for her roles in films such as "Pushpa", "Mission Majnu" and the upcoming "Animal", wrote.
"Today as a woman and as an actor, I am thankful for my family, friends and well wishers who are my protection and support system. But if this happened to me when I was in school or college, I genuinely can't imagine how could I ever tackle this. We need to address this as a community and with urgency before more of us are affected by such identity," Rashmika posted.
Deepfake is a digital method where users can replace one person's likeness convincingly with that of another using AI techonology.
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How long should Congress plead for seats; time to grow in stature and capture power: TNCC chief
Chennai, May 16: The Congress, which has been out of power in Tamil Nadu for over five decades, is attempting to stage a bid to capture power in the state in the 2026 assembly elections.
TNCC chief K Selvaperunthagai deplored the present plight of his party in fighting elections in the shadow of the Dravidian majors, and appealed to cadres to strive to capture power in the state.
"The Congress has been dependent on alliance partners in obtaining seats at the time of elections for 57 years from 1967," Selvaperunthagai told party workers at a meeting in Dharmapuri on Wednesday, without naming the DMK or the AIADMK.
"This situation should change. The party should grow to apportion seats to other parties instead of asking for seats. The party workers should work hard to establish late Chief Minister Kamaraj's rule," the TNCC chief on a mission to revive the grand old party's lost glory, said.
He urged the Congress cadres to gear up for the state assembly election to be held in two years.
"Should we still be silent? We should not delay further. The party infrastructure should be strengthened. How long will we ask for seats? It is time to grow in stature and give seats to allies," he said at the meeting.
Selvaperunthagai further claimed that the Congress had "wasted 57 years" without power in Tamil Nadu.
The Congress had ruled the state for 20 years from 1947 and was sent packing home in the 1967 elections, which saw the emergence of the DMK signaling the commencement of Dravidian politics in the state.
Since then, the Congress has been fighting electoral battles in the shadows of the DMK or the AIADMK, though the party has been enjoying strong ties with the DMK since 2004.
In 1989, the Congress made a bid to avoid alliances with the Dravidian parties when G K Moopanar was the state party chief but it fell short of the target.
Later, the party suffered a split when Moopanar launched the Tamil Maanila Congress in 1996. However, he aligned with the DMK under the leadership of its president M Karunanidhi, then.
Following Moopanar's death, his son G K Vasan merged the faction with the Congress in 2002 only to revive it in 2014. Vasan is now an ally of the BJP.
Since it lost power, the Congress has been attempting to revive the golden rule of Kamaraj but this has been elusive till now.
