Janhvi Kapoor reacts strongly to a viral AI-generated deepfake video

Bollywood actress Janhvi Kapoor has strongly reacted to her deepfake video doing rounds on the Internet. On Sunday, the actress took to the Stories section of her Instagram, and penned a long note in which she criticised those who made the deepfake video. She lashed out at them for their lack of understanding on the concept of consent, and called the content bordering on sexual assault.

She wrote, “The criminal misuse of technology to objectify women and circulate fictionalised content without consent is deeply violating, bordering on physical assault. Almost every woman in my industry has faced some version of this, and women everywhere are increasingly being subjected to it. Consent, choice and respect for a woman’s body should be among the most basic notions of humanity.”

She added, “Yet somehow, they continue to be treated as complicated. They are not. It is surprising that it still seems too nuanced for some people to understand that even if a woman says yes five days in a row and no on the sixth, that no must be respected.” The clip in question is a doctored clip from her film “Devara” in which she starred opposite NTR Jr. The actress further mentioned that if a woman happens to wear a miniskirt, it does not give anyone permission to put a camera up her skirt, capture violating angles or visually exploit her body.

She continued, “What a woman is comfortable with, where she draws the LINE and what she chooses to do with her body are decisions that belong exclusively to her. This is basic. This goes far beyond the AI videos I have dealt with over the last few days, or anything I have personally experienced throughout my career. It is about the larger reality of being a woman, the gaze, the judgement, the constant negotiation for safety, and the feeling that our boundaries somehow remain open to interpretation.”

She went on, “That threat has now expanded into the digital sphere, when we have not even adequately addressed the very real, physical fear that continues to disrupt the lives of women every day. The answer cannot simply be to “Protect your daughter.” We also need to undo the conditioning that makes people believe they are entitled to violate somebody else’s boundaries in the first place. And part of that change will come from exemplary men with the moral compass and the spine to say clearly what is right and what is wrong,” she added.

The actress expressed her gratitude to her co-actor, NTR Jr. “I am deeply touched by NTR sir for taking such a strong stand and condemning this violation. Thank you, sir. When someone whom millions look up to speaks up about something that may not directly concern him, it makes a difference to every woman who has experienced some degree of this behaviour. Thank you also to chiranjeevi sir, Vijay and khushbu ma’am for amplifying that sentiment and calling for action against this mentality” she added.

Indo-Asian News Service