Bollywood star calls for action after 'scary' deepfake video goes viral

A Bollywood star has called for immediate action after yet another deepfake went viral online.

For those unaware, deepfakes are completely false images or videos that are created thanks to artificial intelligence.

In just the last few months, we've seen YouTube star MrBeast warn his fans to not fall for a deepfake of himself advertising the 'world's largest iPhone 15 giveaway', while Nicki Minaj was left horrified after seeing a deepfake video of herself and Tom Holland.

Now, a deepfake video of what appears to be Indian star Rashmika Mandanna is doing the rounds across the country.

In the short clip, it looks as though the Bollywood star is entering and then exiting the lift in her activewear gear.

But despite looking very realistic, the woman in this video is in fact not Mandanna at all.

X/@AbhishekSay

Instead, the clip features the body of British-Indian influencer Zara Patel portrayed in the deepfake video, which is certainly scarily-convincing thanks to advancements in technology.

What is extra creepy with this deepfake video is the fact Patel's real face is visible in the first frame for approximately six seconds of the clip.

To the naked eye, many would just assume the video is real - so it's important we've got someone out there to find and call out these fakes.

On hand to save the day this time is journalist Abhishek Kumar, who was able to track down the fake video's origins.

Kumar is now calling for new 'legal and regulatory' measurers to be taken, especially considering these likenesses are used without permission.

"There is an urgent need for a legal and regulatory framework to deal with deepfake in India. You might have seen this viral video of actor Rashmika Mandanna on Instagram. But wait, this is a deepfake video of Zara Pate," the journalist posted online.

X/@AbhishekSay

While Mandanna may not have been the individual portrayed in the video after all, she, alongside many other Bollywood stars, has called for more regulation surrounding deepfakes.

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.

"But if this happened to me when I was in school or college, I genuinely can’t imagine how I could ever tackle this. We need to address this as a community and with urgency before more of us are affected by identity theft."

The whole deepfake scam has been dubbed as 'scary' by other famous faces, so here's hoping an end to it will come soon.