Actor Girija Oak Godbole, who recently became a viral sensation as 'The Woman in the Blue Saree', has opened up about the dark side of her sudden social media fame.
The Jawan actor, who is gearing up for her upcoming web series Therapy Sherapy alongside Gulshan Devaiah, shared a heartfelt video message addressing the circulation of AI-morphed vulgar images of her that have been making rounds online.
"It's Crazy And Great In Equal Parts"
In her Instagram video, Girija spoke candidly about the overwhelming attention she has received online in the past few days.
"What has been happening on social media for the past three days has been absolute madness. It's crazy and great in equal parts. Suddenly, I have so much attention, and I'm trying to figure out how to process it at the same time," she said.
She went on to express gratitude for the love pouring in from fans and friends. "There is so much love coming my way. So many lovely comments, messages, phone calls from people who have seen my posts on Instagram or other social media platforms. It has been overwhelming at the amount of love I'm receiving. So many of my friends, relatives, people I know have sent me several posts and memes-and some of them are ridiculously funny and very creative also," she said.
However, Girija admitted that not all the content being circulated about her has been harmless. "Some of them are also AI-morphed images of me, which are not in great taste. They are sexualised and objectified beyond comfort, and this bothers me," she said firmly.
The actor reflected on the unsettling nature of viral fame in the digital age. "I am also somebody who lives in this day and age. I use social media myself. I am fully aware of how this works-when something becomes viral, something is trending. These kinds of images generally get made and get circulated as long as people are clicking on your post and you're getting enough likes, interactions and views. That's serving your purpose. We all know how this game is played," she added.
"This Game Has No Rules"
What deeply concerns Girija is the lack of boundaries and accountability in this "game." "What is bothering me is that this game has no rules. And there's just absolutely nothing that is not allowed in this game," she said.
The actor also spoke from a personal place as a mother. "I have a twelve-year-old son. He does not use social media right now, but eventually he will. Once he grows up, he's going to have access to these images because they may be circulating right now, but they're going to remain on the internet forever," she said.
She continued, "These obscene images of his mother-he's going to see them one day, and it worries me, scares me, bothers me to think how he is going to feel about them. He will know that these are not real images and that they are morphed with the help of AI. Just like people who are watching these images right now-they are also aware of the fact that these are not real images and they are modified. But it does give them some sort of a cheap thrill, some sort of a cheap digitalisation. This is scary."
"If You Are Part Of This, Reconsider"
Girija acknowledged that while she cannot completely control the situation, she couldn't stay silent either. "I'm fully aware that I cannot do much about it, but not doing anything about it is also not sitting right with me," she said.
"So here I am requesting you, if you are somebody who's watching this video and you use AI to morph images of women, men, and everybody into something that's not appropriate, then you should think about it once. If you're not somebody who edits these kinds of images and posts them, but you are somebody who likes seeing these kinds of images on social media, then you are also part of the problem. I can only request you to reconsider," she added.
Ending her message on a lighter note, Girija expressed gratitude for the attention her work is receiving. "Apart from that, I'm having a lot of fun because of the sudden attention. And if this translates into more people watching my films, watching my series, watching my plays, then what else could I ask for?" she said with optimism.
Girija Oak Godbole, a well-known face in Marathi theatre and cinema, has also made her mark in Hindi projects such as Taare Zameen Par, Ladies Special, Jawan, and Inspector Zende.