Hyderabad: The Maharashtra police cyber cell has registered an FIR (First Information Report) against an X user for allegedly uploading a 'deepfake' or modified video in which actor Ranveer Singh seemingly appeared to be urging voters to vote for the Congress party, according to an official. The actor's father, Jugjeet Singh Bhavnani, submitted a complaint against the user @sujataindia1st, and the First Information Report (FIR) was registered on Tuesday, according to the official.
According to the complaint, Ranveer Singh conducted a media interview while in Varanasi to promote a fashion show and lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He stated that "it is Modi ji's purpose and goal to celebrate our rich culture, heritage, history, and legacy because we are moving ahead towards modernity very fast but we should never forget our roots, our cultural heritage," according to the FIR.
As per the report, X account holder @sujataindia1st created a deepfake video in which the actor is heard saying, "Modi ji's purpose and goal is to celebrate our painful life, fear, and unemployment because we are moving towards injustice, but we should never stop asking for our development and justice, vote for justice, vote for Congress."
According to the actor's father, Ranveer never mentioned this, and he is not affiliated with any political party. According to Sanjay Shintre, Deputy Inspector General of Police, Maharashtra Cyber Cell, the FIR was filed under Indian Penal Code sections such as 417 (cheating), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating), and 469 (forgery for the purpose of causing reputational harm), as well as laws of the Information Technology Act. The police stated they were conducting more investigations into the situation.
For the unversed, deepfake videos are those that have been convincingly manipulated to portray someone as doing or saying something they did not do or say. The city police recently filed an FIR against an unidentified person in connection with a similar deepfake video of Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan, who was allegedly seen advocating a political party. Many celebrities have raised their concerns regarding the usage of deepfake technology.
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