Actress Janhvi Kapoor strongly condemned the alleged misuse of artificial intelligence after a digitally altered video featuring her from the Devara song Chuttamalle surfaced online. The actress called the circulation of such content without consent “deeply violating” and said the issue goes beyond her personal experience.
The video, which went viral on social media before being taken down, reportedly used footage of Janhvi from Chuttamalle and manipulated it to create sexually explicit content.
Janhvi addressed the issue through a lengthy note on her Instagram story on Sunday (October 4).
She wrote, "The criminal misuse of technology to objectify women and circulate fictionalised content without consent is deeply violating, bordering on sexual assault. Almost every woman in my industry has faced some version of this, and women everywhere are increasingly being subjected to it. Consent, choice and respect for a woman's body should be among the most basic notions of humanity. Yet somehow, they continue to be treated as complicated. They are not."
The actress added, "It is surprising that it still seems too nuanced for some people to understand that even if a woman says yes five days in a row and no on the sixth, that no must be respected. If she happens to wear a miniskirt, it does not give anyone permission to put a camera up her skirt, capture violating angles or visually exploit her body. What a woman is comfortable with, where she draws the LINE and what she chooses to do with her body are decisions that belong exclusively to her. This is basic."
Janhvi stated that this goes far beyond the AI videos she has dealt with over the last few days, or anything she personally experienced throughout her career. She said it is about the larger reality of being a woman, "the gaze, the judgement, the constant negotiation for safety, and the feeling that our boundaries somehow remain open to interpretation. That threat has now expanded into the digital sphere, when we have not even adequately addressed the very real, physical fear that continues to disrupt the lives of women every day."
"The answer cannot simply be to 'Protect your daughter.' We also need to undo the conditioning that makes people believe they are entitled to violate somebody else's boundaries in the first place. And part of that change will come from exemplary men with the moral compass and the spine to say clearly what is right and what is wrong," Janhvi mentioned in her note.
Thanking her Devara co-star Jr NTR and other celebs for speaking up against the misuse of AI, Janhvi wrote, "I am deeply touched by Ntr sir for taking such a strong stand and condemning this violation. Thank you, sir. When someone whom millions look up to speaks up about something that may not directly concern him, it makes a difference to every woman who has experienced some degree of this behaviour. Thank you also to Chiranjeevi sir, Vijay and Khushbu ma'am for amplifying that sentiment and calling for action against this mentality and these immoral practices."
On a concluding note, the actress wrote, "I hope everything unfolding around us right now forces those who participate in any form of harassment to introspест. Is it really too much for a woman to ask to simply be treated and seen as a human being?"
Jr NTR, Chiranjeevi and others condemn AI misuse
Janhvi’s statement came after Jr NTR spoke out against the manipulated video. The actor condemned the use of AI to create such content and said he would pursue legal action against those responsible.
Several other celebrities, including Chiranjeevi and Khushbu Sundar, also criticised the misuse of AI and called for action against such practices.
