- Ram Gopal Varma says celebrity reactions gave the AI-morphed video more visibility
- He says the focus should have been on finding the person behind the video
- Janhvi Kapoor and several Telugu film stars have condemned the misuse of AI
Ram Gopal Varma has questioned the way the controversy around an AI-morphed video of Janhvi Kapoor was handled. The filmmaker said that the public condemnation from celebrities may have ended up giving the offensive clip even more attention. He said the focus should instead have been on finding the person behind the video.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), RGV did not name Janhvi but appeared to refer to the controversy involving the actor and her Devara: Part 1 song Chuttamalle. He said that by speaking about the video publicly, celebrities may have unintentionally helped more people discover it.
“The only thing all the celebrities succeeded in, is to publicise and thereby make crores and crores of people see the objectionable link,” he wrote.
Ram Gopal Varma went on to say that the priority should have been identifying and catching the person who created and circulated the content. “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,” he said.
The comments come after an AI-generated video featuring Janhvi began circulating online. The video used footage from Chuttamalle, which originally featured Janhvi alongside Jr NTR, but was digitally altered to show the actor in a sexually explicit and degrading manner.
Jr NTR was among the first celebrities to react to the video. He called the act "disgusting, sick and shameless" and said that legal action should be taken against those responsible.
Janhvi also addressed the issue publicly on Sunday. Without getting into the details of the video, the actor spoke about the misuse of technology and said that sharing fictionalised content without consent is "deeply violating".
The incident also drew reactions from several names in the Telugu film industry. Chiranjeevi, Vijay Deverakonda and Khushbu Sundar spoke against the misuse of AI and backed Janhvi, while also calling for stronger action against digitally altered content.
ALSO READ | 'Bordering On Sexual Assault': Janhvi Kapoor Breaks Silence On AI-Altered Chuttamalle Video