Image was shared on Instagram. (Courtesy: nameisnani)
Ever since a deepfake video of Pushpa star Rashmika Mandanna appeared online on Sunday, celebrities across the film industry have been raising their voice against it and also calling for legal action. The latest actor after Amitabh Bachchan, Mrunal Thakur and Ishaan Khatter to condemn the act was Nani. Speaking with India Today on the video that went viral, Nani said "not everyone will be as strong as Rashmika". He added that it is "far more dangerous than what we are imagining".
"Mostly the girls fall prey to it, but I am sure there are many others who did go through it and it's just now we saw an example of what it could be. But I think it's far more dangerous than what we are imagining now because we don't know or we can't even anticipate in what kind of situation it could be used. And not everyone will be as strong as Rashmika. There's a lot of support, there are people who are discussing it and showing the original clip and helping out. But what happens? When it happens to someone - be a sister, a cousin, a friend, and let's say they are not in the media, not a popular person - they will not be able to handle it or clear themselves out. It is very scary and I just hope we, as a society, it's not one person's responsibility. I think we as a society should be ready to tackle that and to get that awareness about what these things could do and also to fight it back," he further explained.
Earlier, Keerthy Suresh and Vijay Deverakonda also weighed in on the issue. The Bhola Shankar star on Wednesday put out a statement condemning the act and also questioning the use misuse of technology to commit cyber crimes. In an extensive post on X (previously known as Twitter), the actress wrote, "The deep-fake video that's going around is scary. I really wish the person who had done this could have rather used that time to do something productive and not put the people involved, into misery. I don't understand if technology for us today is a boon or a bane. Let's use this platform widely to only spread love, positivity, awareness, and information and not nonsense. God save mankind."
See what Keerthy Suresh posted:
A day back, Rashmika's Geetha Govindam co-star Vijay Deverakonda reacted to the video as well. Sharing an article on the incident on his Instagram feed, Vijay asked for stringent punishment. He wrote, "Extremely important steps for the future. This shouldn't happen to anyone. Also, an efficient accessible cyber wing for quick crackdowns and punishment will make people more secure.”
Take a look at Vijay's post supporting Rashmika below:
The deepfake video came to the limelight after a user shared it on X (formerly Twitter) and demanded legal action against it. The video grabbed the attention of Amitabh Bachchan, who re-shared the post on November 5 and wrote, “Yes this is a strong case for legal.”
Apart from Amitabh Bachchan, Ishaan Khatter, Mrunal Thakur, South Indian actor Naga Chaitanya and Mast Magan singer Chinmayi Sripaada have also addressed the issue.