Last year in November, a deepfake video of Rashmika Mandanna went viral on the internet. The Delhi Police claimed to have arrested the main culprit last week. The actor has opened up about her experience and why she spoke about the issue in a new interview.
Detailing how she felt about the incident, Rashmika said, “So many times this happens, and you speak about it, and someone is like, ‘But you chose this job!’ Or you know, ‘This is how it’s going to be.’ ‘Like, why are you talking about it now?’ In my head, the only thing I was thinking about was that if this happened to me in college, I wouldn’t have anyone to come and support me. Because something in our culture is that what our society thinks of us is supposed to be us. Like we have to be the way and react how society wants us to, you know, think and react, right?”
She added, "So imagine some girl in her college had to go through the same thing. And I am like, dude, I am really scared for them. And if I am speaking about it, so there's at least like 41 million people who know that, okay, there's something called the deepfake. And this is not right. There's something that is affecting emotions and causing stress in people in general. So I think bringing out that awareness was important to me.”
Earlier, when the creator of the video was arrested, Rashmika expressed her gratitude to the police and also shared a message with her fans. "Girls and boys - if your image is used or morphed anywhere without your consent. It is wrong! And I hope this is a reminder that you are surrounded by people who will support you and action will be taken! (White heart emoji)." she wrote.
Rashmika was last seen in Sandeep Reddy Vanga's ‘Animal.’ The film also starred Ranbir Kapoor, Bobby Deol, and Anil Kapoor in the lead roles. Rashmika will be seen in ‘Pushpa 2.’ She also has ‘Chaava’ in the pipeline, which is all set to hit theatres on December 6, 2024.
