Janhvi Kapoor condemns AI deepfake as stars demand action

Actor Janhvi Kapoor has condemned the creation and circulation of an explicit AI-manipulated video using her likeness, as prominent figures across Indian cinema call for stronger protection against deepfakes.

The fake was created using imagery associated with Chuttamalle, the song featuring Kapoor and Jr NTR from the 2024 film Devara: Part 1. AI was used to manipulate the footage into sexualised content that did not appear in the original video.

Kapoor responded publicly on 4 October, describing the experience as deeply violating and warning that women across the entertainment industry are increasingly being targeted by similar technology.

Indian film stars rally behind Janhvi

Jr NTR has also condemned the video and said he intends to pursue legal action against those responsible for creating and circulating it. He has called for stronger rules around the misuse of artificial intelligence.

Other major Indian film figures have spoken out following the incident, including Chiranjeevi, Vijay Deverakonda and Khushbu Sundar. The reaction has pushed the case beyond an individual deepfake and into a wider discussion about consent and performers’ digital identities.

Kapoor also made clear that the issue is not simply whether an AI video is convincing. The fundamental problem is that someone’s face and body can be manipulated into material they never agreed to create.

AI raises a growing consent problem

Actors around the world are increasingly confronting technology capable of reproducing their voices, faces and performances without requiring them to take part.

That creates challenges which traditional image rights and copyright laws were not designed to answer, particularly when fake content can be produced and distributed at enormous speed.

For Kapoor, the immediate issue is intensely personal. For the wider entertainment industry, her experience adds another high-profile example of why consent is becoming central to the debate over generative AI