Deepfake victim Mrunal Thakur threatens legal action for AI misuse, ‘Consider this your formal notice’

Published 4 August 2026 · india

Actress Mrunal Thakur has issued a stern warning to people who use deepfake or similar AI technology to violate her identity. The message comes as

Actress Mrunal Thakur has issued a stern warning to people who use deepfake or similar AI technology to violate her identity. The message comes as Thakur is one of the Bollywood celebrities who have repeatedly become victims of such AI misuse. “Creating or sharing deepfake content using my likeness is illegal and unacceptable. Consider this your formal notice to stop immediately. Any further misuse of my identity will result in legal action,” Mrunal Thakur wrote on social media. The post has gone viral, garnering more than 1 million views on X (formerly Twitter). Social media users have reacted to her post. “This is criminal! Cyber (cell) needs to act upon and punish these people,” wrote one user. “You are completely correct and have all the rights to speak up for yourself as, behind all the headlines, there is a real person who is you, so you shouldn’t be afraid to say what they need to hear,” commented another user.

Another user wrote, “Looks like a lobby behind this. Register a formal complaint and name some people that you think may be behind this. This will send the message all across the PR agencies. Let there be collateral damage.” “No need to give one more chance, take legal action right now, ma'am,” came from another. At the same time, one user pointed out, “There are tons of deepfakes of every actress from the start of the Internet. You can’t erase it. Most actresses will ignore it for the better. Whoever tried to stop it suffered more damage, because the internet is a weird place. If you flag anything, it will multiply.” Sara Tendulkar has become the latest victim of deepfake videos.

An AI video featuring Sachin Tendulkar’s daughter has gone viral. As AI technology advances, detecting real from fake videos becomes increasingly difficult. View full Image View full Image Screengrabs from an AI deepfake video featuring Sara Tendulkar (Social media) AI deepfakes in Bollywood Several Bollywood stars have approached the courts over unauthorised use of their images, voices or both. Hrithik Roshan, Akshay Kumar and Suniel Shetty joined this legal movement. Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Karan Johar also filed cases. They followed the earlier action by Amitabh Bachchan and Anil Kapoor. Singers Kumar Sanu, Asha Bhosale and Arijit Singh also joined the movement. Experts, however, note that enforcement remains genuinely difficult despite court injunctions granted. Content spreads rapidly, making comprehensive online monitoring nearly impossible.