Jhanvi Kapoor condemns AI-generated explicit viral video, calls for respect and consent

Bollywood actor Jhanvi Kapoor has addressed the AI-generated elephant in the room: an altered video featuring her from the Devara: Part 1 song Chuttamalle.

The video, which had been tampered with to create a sexually explicit number, has sparked outrage and debate since it went viral this week, with many celebs speaking up about the ‘intrusive’ way in which tech is now being used.

Now, Kapoor, of Peddi and Param Sundari fame, is calling out the offending video. She said in a statement published on her Instagram account that  circulating fictionalised content without consent is "deeply violating".

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."

She explained that consent isn’t a debatable, complicated issue and must not be treated as such. "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."

She called attention to the fact that a person may not consent to the same thing at different points in her life – and that is her indisputable right. She said, "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."

She added: "This goes far beyond the AI videos I have dealt with over the last few days, or anything I have personally experienced throughout my career. 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."

Janhvi stressed that their needs to be an overhaul in the way society thinks about women. "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," she said.

After making these points, she thanked her Devara co-star Jr NTR for speaking out against the video; he was one of the first to take a strong stand against the altered video.  

"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,” she wrote.

She also expressed her gratitude towards Chiranjeevi, Vijay and Khushbu Sundar for speaking up for her.  

"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. I hope everything unfolding around us right now forces those who participate in any form of harassment to introspect. Is it really too much for a woman to ask to simply be treated and seen as a human being?"

She ended her statement with a strong, distilled message: "Her body. Her image. Her boundaries. Her choice."