Viral video of actor Rashmika Mandanna in a bodysuit is a deepfake

By: Ankita Kulkarni
November 6 2023

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Screenshots of a post making the claim that the woman in the video is Rashmika Mandanna. (Source: Facebook/Screenshots/Modified by Logically Facts.)

What is the claim?

A video being shared on social media appears to show Indian actor Rashmika Mandanna entering an elevator in a black yoga bodysuit. Sharing the video, one such user on Facebook (archived here) wrote, “OMG Rashmika Mandanna can't believe.” Other archived versions of similar posts can be viewed here and here.

Screenshot of a viral post claiming the video shows Rashmika Mandanna. (Source: Facebook/Screenshot/Modified by Logically Facts.)

However, Logically Facts has determined that the video is a deepfake and was created using artificial intelligence (AI).

What are the facts? 

On a closer look, one can observe various discrepancies in the viral video. For instance, at the beginning of the viral clip, we can see the face of a different woman, which later morphs into Mandanna's face. Also, the lip movements do not entirely match the audio when the woman in the video says, “I did not want to miss the elevator,” suggesting that the footage is digitally manipulated. 

A reserve image search on one of the video keyframes led us to the original clip, posted on Instagram by the account ‘Zara Patel’ on October 9, 2023. The post is captioned, “POV: you almost close the elevator door on me again...” In her Instagram bio, the user identified herself as a “british indian baby.”

Original video uploaded on Instagram in October. (Source: Screenshot/Instagram/zaarapatellll)

We compared the viral video and the original and found that the video posted by Patel was digitally edited to show Mandanna’s face. 

Addressing the viral video, Rashmika Mandanna also posted a statement on her official social media accounts. “ I feel really hurt to share this and have to talk about the deepfake video of me being spread online. Something like this is, honestly, extremely scary not only for me, but also for each one of us who today is vulnerable to so much harm because of how technology is being misused,” she wrote. “We need to address this as a community and with urgency before more of us are affected by such identity theft,” she added. 

Statement posted by Rashmika Mandanna on Instagram and X. (Source: Instagram/X/Screenshot)

Logically Facts has debunked similar viral deepfake videos here, here, and here. You can also read our detailed article on detecting deepfake images and videos generated using artificial intelligence here.

The verdict

The video of Rashmika Mandanna circulating online is a deepfake. Therefore, we have marked the claim as fake.