‘Concentrate on Catching the Perpetrator’
Ram Gopal Varma says that celebrity outrage to Janhvi’s deepfake video have inadvertently boosted its reach
Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma has criticised celebrities for publicising an explicit, AI-generated deepfake video featuring Janhvi Kapoor and Jr NTR from the Devara song ‘Chuttamalle’. Varma argued that the social media outrage over the video inadvertently amplified the offensive content, prompting thousands of people to search for and view it.
According to Varma, the “smart thing would have been to concentrate on catching the perpetrator and publicise that”. Instead, he said, celebrity posts shifted attention towards the victim’s identity and effectively drew more traffic to the offensive content, which he pointed out is also a crime under digital safety norms.
His remarks come as several prominent industry figures have publicly condemned the deepfake.
The controversy has also renewed discussions among media professionals, cyber-safety advocates and the public about the “Streisand effect” in digital crimes — the possibility that attempts to draw attention to or suppress harmful content can inadvertently increase its reach.
Speaking about AI-generated content and its aftermath, Varma said such manipulation existed long before AI became the focus of the debate. “Everyone’s pictures are artificially morphed from long before AI became the supposed villain. In fact, I’d go as far as to say, you are not a celebrity if your pictures and images are not eroticised. It is part and parcel of stardom. Why make a fuss about it? By doing so, you are only attracting more attention. I am sure after reading about the Devara song, thousands rushed to find it on their phones and computers.”
So, is Varma suggesting there is no solution to the problem? “No, there is no solution. You can't stop technology. But you can stop the perpetrators of this crime. The sensible and logical thing would be to nab the criminals and speak about them.”
Highlight: Everyone’s pictures are artificially morphed from long before AI became the supposed villain. It is part and parcel of stardom. Why make a fuss about it? By doing so,you are only attracting more attention. I am sure after reading about the Devara song, thousands rushed to find it on their phones and computers.”