Zara Patel from original video of Rashmika Mandanna deepfake reacts, "I'm disturbed..."

Chandigarh, November 11

In the wake of the viral Rashmika Mandanna deepfake video, Zara Patel, the woman featured in the original clip, has broken her silence and expressed her concerns about the incident. The deepfake video, which gained notoriety on social media, has raised questions about the misuse of technology and its impact on individuals.

Zara Patel, a British influencer, became the unintended subject of the deepfake video that blended her body with the face of popular Bollywood actress Rashmika Mandanna. Originally shared on October 9, the video caught the attention of the online community and triggered a wave of discussions.

In response to the deepfake video, Zara Patel took to her Instagram Stories, where she expressed her distress and dismay, urging people to exercise caution when consuming content on the Internet. She wrote, “Hi all, it has come to my attention that someone created a deepfake video using my body and a popular Bollywood actress’s face. I had no involvement with the deepfake video and I’m deeply disturbed and upset by what is happening. I worry about the future of women and girls who now have to fear even more about putting themselves on social media. Please take a step back and fact-check what you see on the internet. Not everything on the internet is real.”

The controversy surrounding the deepfake video caught the attention of Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan, who called for legal action against it.

Rashmika Mandanna, the actress whose face was used in the video, also addressed the issue, highlighting the grave concerns associated with the misuse of technology.

She emphasised the need for a collective effort to combat such identity theft and expressed gratitude for the support she received from her family, friends, and well-wishers. Rashmika stressed the urgency of addressing this issue before more individuals fall victim to similar incidents and thanked Amitabh Bachchan for his support in this endeavour.

In the Instagram stories, the actress wrote, “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 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 theft.”

The deepfake video controversy has sparked a broader discussion about the ethical and legal implications of deepfake technology, shedding light on the potential harm it can cause to individuals in the digital age.