Even as concerns mount over the spread of deepfakes – artificial intelligence (AI) generated videos and photos – an AI engineer called Senthil Nayagam swapped actor Simran in a dance video originally featuring Tamannaah Bhatia. The original video was posted as an Instagram reel by Tamannaah in which she dances with two others to the newly released ‘Kaavaalaa’ song from Rajnikanth’s upcoming Jailer. Tamannaah, who features in the song’s official video too alongside Rajini, posted the reel after the song went viral.
Senthil, the maker of the deepfake, replaced Tamannaah with Simran, who is also known to be a good dancer, creating a disturbingly realistic likeness. Further, Senthil made another deepfake version of the same reel, swapping out the two other dancers’ faces with Simran’s too so that it appears as if three clones of the actor are dancing. There are several other deepfakes of Simran in the same Twitter thread from Senthil.
Simran edition #Kaavaalaa @anirudhofficial @simranbaggaoffc @sunpictures @tamannaahspeaks #GenerativeAI #muonium pic.twitter.com/EHBCUaNZq9
— Senthil Nayagam (@senthilnayagam) July 11, 2023
According to a LinkedIn post by Senthil Nayagam, his startup Muonium Ai is focused on using Generative AI to reduce post-production costs and time in filmmaking. Uses include generating subtitles, dubbing, and automation in post-production.
Recently, another deepfake was seen featuring Malayalam movie stars Mohanlal, Mammootty, and Fahadh Faasil. It recreated an iconic scene from Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather. While the video left fans and other netizens in awe at how uncannily the Malayalam actors seem to fit in comparison to the original, the video’s creator Tom Antony had more to say on the matter.
A Kerala-based quantitative developer, Tom shared a word of caution, especially to those who are inspired by and seek to experiment with AI technology. Highlighting the dangerous side of the deepfake technology and the ease with which it can be misused for malicious intent, Tom called for people to be ethical and responsible while creating such videos. He also stated that he won’t make such videos any more using another person’s face without permission.