Rashmika Mandanna on the impact of deepfake videos: 'We've normalised them'

Rashmika Mandanna thanked the film fraternity for supporting her during the deepfake videos incident and urged other women to speak about the impact of deepfake videos.

Actor Rashmika Mandanna, who was at the heart of a deepfake video incident three weeks ago, reacted to the impact of those videos on the general public and revealed that she always wondered if anyone would ever support her if she opened up about how troublesome deepfakes were.

"Deepfakes have been around for a while and we’ve normalised them, but it isn’t okay. I always wondered who would even care if I chose to speak up and point out that it isn’t okay," Mandanna said at a launch event of her upcoming movie "Animal" in Hyderabad on Monday.

After Mandanna, three other actors from the industry-Katrina Kaif, Kajol and most recently Alia Bhatt-have been subjected to the deepfake video menace.

Following the incident involving Mandanna, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar was prompted to state the legal obligations of social media platforms and IT rules of the country pertaining to digital deception.

The actor thanked the film fraternity for supporting her during the phase and urged other women to speak about the impact of deepfake videos.

"So, I’m glad people from across the film industries have supported me. I understand now how important it is to speak up. I want to urge women to take the help they need when it happens," she added.

Leading industry names such as Amitabh Bachchan and Naga Chaitanya had come out in support of the actor during the incident that happened a few weeks ago.

Also read: 'I am getting lot of hate': Zara Patel, whose video was used for Rashmika Mandanna deepfake