'Disturbed and upset': Zara Patel, whose video was used in Rashmika Mandanna’s deepfake, reacts

Zara Patel, whose video was used to create a viral deepfake of actress Rashmika Mandanna, says she is “deeply disturbed” by the incident. The British-Indian woman shared a statement on Instagram revealing that she had no contribution in the making of this video. In fact, she is deeply disturbed by this.

Taking to her Instagram stories, the influencer addressed the issue and wrote, “Hi all, it has come to my attention that someone created a deepfake video using my body and a popular Bollywood actress’s face. I had no involvement with the deepfake video, and I’m deeply disturbed and upset by what is happening.” She added, “I worry about the future of women and girls who now have to fear even more about putting themselves on social media. Please take a step back and fact-check what you see on the internet. Not everything on the internet is real. I’m deeply upset by what is happening.” On Monday, Rashmika Mandanna issued a statement on the deepfake video, tagging the cyber police in her tweet.

I feel really hurt to share this and have to talk about the deepfake video of me being spread online.

Something like this is honestly, extremely scary not only for me, but also for each one of us who today is vulnerable to so much harm because of how technology is being misused.…

— Rashmika Mandanna (@iamRashmika) November 6, 2023

She wrote, “I feel really hurt to share this and have to talk about the deepfake video of me being spread online. Something like this is honestly, extremely scary not only for me, but also for each one of us who today is vulnerable to so much harm because of how technology is being misused.” Several celebs including Amitabh Bachchan, Mrunal Thakur and Naga Chaitanya came out in support of the Animal star and demanded legal action.