Film producer calls youth polluted after deepfake row

Film producer Y Ravi Shankar has strongly criticized the misuse of artificial intelligence to create deepfake content following a recent online controversy involving actor Janhvi Kapoor. Ravi Shankar is the co-founder of Mythri Movie Makers, the production house behind Janhvi's recent film Peddi. Speaking at a press event announcing the Telugu release of the biopic Hanuman Ansh, Ravi Shankar said that social media makes it easy to attack people and that AI misuse leaves people unable to tell what is real. He added that the youth have become polluted and that society needs films with divine power to instil a fear of God. The recent deepfake controversy involved an AI-altered version of the Chuttamalle song from the film Devara: Part 1, where Janhvi Kapoor's likeness was digitally changed into sexually explicit imagery. Both Janhvi Kapoor and co-star Jr NTR publicly condemned those videos, with Janhvi describing the incident as an assault. Peddi itself previously faced heavy criticism for sexualising Janhvi's character and normalising assault, which led the makers to change some scenes after viewers objected.

Hanuman Ansh

Ravi Shankar praised the biopic Hanuman Ansh, which is based on Neem Karoli Baba, for conveying a message and becoming a commercial superhit. He announced that the film will release in Telugu on October 9. Made on a budget of under Rs 2 crore, the film has already earned Rs 425 crore worldwide at the box office and continues to make money. He urged other producers to release the film in every possible language.

Context

Deepfakes use artificial intelligence to swap faces or alter videos, creating realistic-looking fake media that has raised growing legal and ethical concerns worldwide. Low-budget films occasionally achieve massive box office success when they connect strongly with audiences across regions.