The deepfake video of Pushpa actor Rashmika Mandanna has set the internet on fire with even Amitabh Bachchan throwing his weight behind the controversy. Meanwhile, the girl whose body was used to create a deepfake video of Rashmika, has broken her silence as she took to her social media page. This has prompted many to ask, “Who Is Zara Patel?”
Zara, a social media influencer of Indian origin, took to Instagram to express her disgust. “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 wrote.
Who Is Zara Patel?
Zara Patel is of Indian origin influencer, who is currently based in the US. She has been regularly posting reels on Instagram, where she has close to half a million followers. Her bio describes her as a ‘full time engineer’ and a ‘mental health advocate.’ She was believed to have been raised in the United Kingdom but she appears to be based in the US now as she has an American accent.
Her Instagram account also says that it’s being operated from the US.
Background
A short video showed Rashmika entering an elevator went viral on social media. However, eagle-eyed social media users were quick to highlight how this was deepfake video, generated using the AI tools.
Rashmika reacted strongly registering her outrage. She even slammed the country’s politicians in power as she wrote, “…it’s scary but having the leaders we have today, the only hope is that we as a community bring a change.”
Even actor Amitabh Bachchan reacted by saying that ‘this is a strong case for legal.’
The IT minister in the Narendra Modi government said in a tweet that the latter was committed to ensuring the digital safety of all Indian citizens.