'Baba Ka Dhaba' owner accuses YouTuber of misappropriation of funds; files police complaint
New Delhi: Kanta Prasad, the owner of popular eatery Baba Ka Dhaba' in south Delhi's Malviya Nagar, has filed a complaint against Instagram influencer Gaurav Wasan for misappropriation of funds, police said on Sunday.
Prasad (80) had shot to fame after a video of him tearfully recounting the desperation of the months since the lockdown was shared widely across social media platforms recently.
Ironically, Prasad's despair had come to light when Wasan captured the eatery owner breaking down as he talked about his struggles in a video shared on the YouTuber's social media account.
In his complaint to police, Prasad said Wasan shot his video and posted it online, and convinced the public on social media to donate money to the eatery owner.
He further alleged that Wasan "intentionally and deliberately shared only his and his family/friends bank details and mobile numbers with the donors and collected a huge amount of donation through different modes of payments i.e bank account/wallets without providing any information to the complainant".
The owner of the food joint also accused the YouTuber of not providing details of the financial transactions to him.
We received the complaint yesterday at the Malviya Nagar Police Station and the matter is being probed. No FIR has been registered yet in the case, Atul Kumar Thakur, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South), said.
After the video went viral, Baba ka Dhaba was the cynosure of many eyes across the country, including celebs from showbiz who posted appeals asking people to go there and get themselves a meal.
A day after the heartbreaking video, #Babakadhaba was trending on Twitter and the food joint was flooded with more customers than it had seen in 30 years of being in business.
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AI reshaping music, filmmaking in Kannada cinema
Bengaluru: Artificial Intelligence is slowly changing the way music and creativity are produced in the Kannada film industry, raising concerns among musicians, singers and technicians, The New Indian Express reported on Sunday.
Music composer, actor and director V Manohar reportedly said, AI is being used to write lyrics, especially in low-budget movies. Once lyrics are generated, AI can suggest thousands of tunes. It even asks whether the voice should be male or female. With one click, a complete song is ready.
“If this continues, singers and musicians will have less or no work in the coming days. But it may not succeed either. A few years ago, dubbing was allowed and people could watch movies in any language they preferred. But not many took to it as they wanted to watch a movie in the original,” TNIE quoted him as saying.
According to the report, Filmmaker Avinash U Shetty, a National Award winner, said resistance to new technology is not new. Those who resisted shifting from analogue to digital films years ago have now embraced it. The industry is now using only 10% of the AI potential. If it is scaled up, it can do unimaginable things. What we consider bad now, may not be after five years.
Highlighting the cost advantage, Sangamesh, an independent creator reportedly said, he made a three-minute video using AI for just Rs 4,500. Earlier, the same work would have cost nearly Rs 15 lakh. I finished the entire project in three days. The only expense was the AI software subscription, he said.
These days, it has become difficult to differentiate between the real and AI. AI is creating artistes. Scenes like war, big fights and dance can be shot with a lesser number of artistes. Then with the aid of visual effects and AI, you can achieve what you have in mind, he said.
Actor-director D P Raghuram felt that while AI has made an impact on music, it lacks emotional depth. Cinema earlier involved hard work and strong emotional connections. AI can help improve our work, but creativity should remain human, he reportedly said.
As per the report, earlier, Kannada cinema employed hundreds of junior artistes, who not only earned wages but also shared meals on sets and formed lasting bonds with stars like Dr Rajkumar, Vishnuvardhan and Ambareesh. Today, filmmakers fear that increasing dependence on AI could reduce such human connections, turning creativity into just another automated process.
