Alia latest Indian celebrity to fall prey to deepfake

Leading Bollywood actress Alia Bhatt is the latest celebrity to fall prey to deepfake technology after Rashmika Mandanna, Katrina Kaif, and Kajol.

An unsettling deepfake video of the Gangubai Kathiawadi actress has gone viral on social media.

The video shows a girl who resembles Alia Bhatt looking into the camera and making obscene gestures. She is seen wearing a blue flowery dress in the viral video. It is clear that the video was edited by pasting the actress’ face over someone else's body.

This comes after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned about the dangers of using AI to create deepfakes and urged the media to inform the public about the impending danger posed by the abuse of AI.

Recently, Kajol became a victim of AI-generated deepfake videos. A video went viral on social media, which purportedly showed the multiple award-winning actress changing clothes.

Before this, popular South Indian actress Rashmika Mandanna became the target of deepfakes. The widely-circulated video featured a morphed version of Mandanna entering an elevator. The original video featured Zara Patel, a British-Indian woman with a substantial following and who had originally posted the video on Instagram.

Days later, a deepfake video of actress Katrina Kaif also emerged on the internet. It featured a morphed Kaif in a low-cut white top.

Last week, India’s Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw met social media platforms to discuss the issue of deepfakes. Terming deepfakes as a new threat to democracy, he said that the government will come up with new regulations soon to tackle deepfakes.

On the work front, Alia Bhatt will next be seen in Jigra, directed by Vasan Bala of Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota fame. Apart from playing the lead role, the actress is also attached as co-producer of the film.

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