21 January 2024
Hyderabad

Rashmika Mandanna, who’s simultaneously shooting for four projects across languages, is gearing up for a busy 2024. The actress, in the news recently for her engagement rumours, has now thanked Delhi cops for finding the mastermind behind her deepfake video that went viral recently. She cautioned netizens to be wary of the content they share and their digital presence.

“Expressing my heartfelt gratitude to @DCP_IFSO. Thank you for apprehending those responsible. Feeling truly grateful for the community that embraces me with love, support and shields me. Girls and boys - if your image is used or morphed anywhere without your consent. It is wrong! And I hope this is a reminder that you are surrounded by people who will support you and action will be taken,” Rashmika wrote.

For the unversed, miscreants morphed Rashmika’s image with the body of social media star Zara Patel a few weeks ago and the video went viral instantly, sending shockwaves across the film fraternity. It set a wrong example on how technological advancements could be misused. Several leading names from Tamil, Hindi, Telugu industries conveyed their support to Rashmika and demanded immediate action.

The mastermind behind the deepfake video has been identified as Eemani Naveen, a 24-year-old Guntur native, who was arrested later as well. Delhi’s DCP Hemanth Tiwari said that there’s enough evidence to suggest Naveen’s involvement behind the video. Apparently, he had run a Rashmika fan page sometime ago and created the video in the hope to gain more traction on social media.