Actor and Movie Artists Association President Vishnu Manchu has reacted strongly to the recent uproar in the Telugu film industry over the issue of fake videos created by artificial intelligence.
He said that the incident of the misuse of the song ‘Chuttamalle’ starring NTR and Janhvi Kapoor by morphing it with artificial intelligence should not be seen as just an incident, but rather as a warning of the dangers of uncontrolled digital misuse in the future.
Referring to Ram Pothineni’s tweet, “They have no faces.. that’s why they have no fear,” Vishnu Manchu said that the proposal to bring accountability to individuals’ identities on social media by linking them to Aadhaar needs to be seriously considered.
He made it clear that freedom of expression must be protected, but that it should not be used to harass, defame, indecent attack, or deliberately target others in the name of anonymity.
Vishnu Manchu expressed concern over the organized negative campaign targeting films, actors, and directors, not limited to deepfakes.
He said that criticism, reviews, trolling, and dissent are natural in the film world, but coordinated negative propaganda that damages a film before the audience has a chance to see it is unacceptable.
He mentioned Sundeep Kishan’s comments about the targeted negative campaign against him and his film, as well as his move to court seeking protection from defamatory content before the release of the film ‘The Paradise’.
“Behind every film, there are many years of hard work, the lives of hundreds of families, and producers who invest huge amounts of money,” said Vishnu Manchu.
He said that everyone should watch the film before forming an opinion on it, and that the audience should have complete freedom to like, dislike, or criticize the film.
However, he made it clear that the film should be given a chance to reach the audience first, calling for “let the film be released first.”
As president of the Movie Artists Association, Vishnu Manchu revealed that the association is collecting information about social media accounts and the networks behind them that are repeatedly engaging in targeted harassment and misinformation.
He made it clear that their intention was not to suppress criticism, but to bring accountability for mistakes.
Vishnu Manchu said that the latest deepfake controversy has once again highlighted the urgent need to establish an effective industry-wide system to prevent such incidents from recurring and to ensure accountability for online abuse.