Actor Janhvi Kapoor debuted in Telugu cinema with the 2024 film Devara: Part 1, directed by Koratala Siva. Two years later, she found objectionable AI-morphed videos of herself from the song Chuttamalle circulating online. After she and her co-star condemned the video’s circulation, as did other celebrities from the Telugu film industry, filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma chimed in. He stated that the focus should have been on catching the perpetrator rather than increasing the video’s visibility.
The filmmaker added that focus should’ve been on catching the perpetrator first, writing, “The smart thing would have been to concentrate on catching the perpetrator and publicise that..Instead what they did is to tweet and bring enormous attention to the victim’s identity and the offensive content which is also a crime. Using AI to create something this vile is shameful beyond words,” read a portion of his note. “I hope everything unfolding around us right now forces those who participate in any form of harassment to introspect. Is it really too much for a woman to ask to simply be treated and seen as a human being? Her body. Her image. Her boundaries. Her choice,” wrote Janhvi. This year, the actor starred in her second Telugu film Peddi , directed by Buchi Babu Sana and starring Ram Charan. The filmmakers faced controversy over objectifying Janhvi in the film.
“In a land that worships women as mothers and goddesses, where “Matrudevo Bhava” is not just a phrase but a part of our culture, some people have fallen so low that they are using AI to disrespect a woman in the most degrading way possible. On Friday, Jr NTR condemned those who morphed the visuals of the Chuttamalle song from Devara, featuring him and Janhvi.
