Varma’s latest jab at the celebrity outcry came hot‑on‑fire on X, but he insisted the real crime was the act of manipulation itself.
The video in question was not a new production; it was a digitally altered mash‑up of the “Chuttamalle” track that originally paired Janhvi Kapoor with Jr NTR. The clip, circulated across TikTok and WhatsApp, forced the actress into a role she never agreed to, and gave the clip a viral life that was hard to unsee.
Jr NTR was the first to take a stand, calling the act “disgusting, sick and shameless” and demanding legal action. Other Telugu stalwarts—Chiranjeevi, Vijay Deverakonda, and Khushbu Sundar—echoed his sentiment, condemning the misuse of AI and urging the industry to adopt stronger safeguards.
Janhvi herself weighed in, describing the experience as a “deep violation” of consent. She highlighted how the sharing of fictionalised content, without her approval, tarnished her reputation and personal dignity.
Varma’s take was blunt: “The smart thing would have been to focus on catching the perpetrator and publicising that, instead of amplifying the victim’s identity and the offensive content.” He warned that celebrity chatter only widened the audience for the illegal clip, turning a crime into a spectacle.
The fallout could ripple beyond the courtroom. With the Indian government already hinting at tighter regulations on deep‑fake content, industry insiders are now debating how to protect actors’ likenesses in an era of increasingly sophisticated AI tools. Whether the legal system will keep pace with the technology remains to be seen, but Varma’s stance has already set the conversation in motion.