Following the emergence of a deepfake video featuring Rashmika Mandanna, the star of ‘Pushpa,’ the film industry’s celebrities have been voicing their concerns and calling for legal action. Joining the ranks of Amitabh Bachchan, Mrunal Thakur, and Ishaan Khatter in condemning the act is Rashmika’s co-star from ‘Geetha Govindam,’ Vijay Deverakonda. Sharing an article on the incident on his Instagram feed, Vijay called for stringent punishment and stated, “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.”
Vijay’s supportive post for Rashmika can be seen below:
In the wake of the incident, Ishaan Khatter spoke to NDTV’s Abira Dhar Rao on Monday and voiced his disapproval of Rashmika Mandanna’s deepfake video, saying, “I condemn it. I don’t think deepfake is cool. I don’t think using somebody’s body or voice without their consent is okay. I don’t support that.”
Additionally, Mrunal Thakur, who stars in ‘Lust Stories 2,’ responded to the viral video on Tuesday, releasing a statement that read, “Shame on people who resort to such things; it shows that there’s no conscience left at all in such people. Thank you, Rashmika Mandanna, for speaking up and addressing this issue that we have seen glimpses of, but many of us chose to remain silent.”
Mrunal further added, “Every day, morphed and edited videos of female actors circulate on the internet, zooming into inappropriate body parts. Where are we heading as a community and as a society? We may be actresses in the ‘limelight,’ but at the end of the day, each one of us is human. Why aren’t we talking about it? Don’t remain silent; now is not the time.”
Reacting to the deepfake video, Rashmika Mandanna issued a statement on Monday, expressing her concerns about the misuse of technology. Her statement read, “I feel really hurt to share this and have to talk about the deepfake 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. 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 I could ever tackle this. We need to address this as a community and with urgency before more of us are affected by such identity theft.”
For those wondering, Vijay Deverakonda has worked with Rashmika Mandanna in films such as ‘Geetha Govindam’ and ‘Dear Comrade.’ They were rumored to be dating last year.
Leslie Rajan 
Nisham Ismail 
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