R Madhavan Reveals Falling Victim To AI-Enabled Deepfake Video Of Ronaldo Praising Virat Kohli: 'Anushka Sharma Messaged Me It's Fake'

Actor R Madhavan recently shared an incident where he was tricked by an AI-generated video featuring footballer Cristiano Ronaldo and cricketer Virat Kohli. In one of his latest interviews, the actor revealed that he only realised his mistake when Virat's wife, Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma, personally messaged him about it.  

During a conversation with Zee TV Me, Madhavan was asked if he had ever been scammed in real life. He recalled a particular incident involving a deepfake video. 

"One of the reels that I saw had somebody praising Virat Kohli to high heavens. In fact, I think it was Ronaldo…how much he enjoyed watching Kohli bat and how much of a legend he thought he was," he said. 

The actor admitted that he believed the video to be genuine and even shared it on Instagram. However, soon after, Anushka reached out to inform him that the video was fake and was created using AI.  

Madhavan admitted feeling embarrassed about falling for the fake video. He further spoke about the growing sophistication of AI-generated content and how even someone as aware as him could be misled. "It’s really embarrassing. So even somebody like me who is pretty aware was completely taken away. And then, when she told me the flaws, I realised, 'Arey haan, yeh toh bada gadbad hain (This is an issue)'. So one has to be very careful that whatever you’re forwarding is very credible," he cautioned.  

On the professional front, R Madhavan was last seen in Shaitaan alongside Ajay Devgn and Jyotika. The supernatural thriller received positive reviews. 

Up next, he will be seen in Test, a Tamil sports drama that he has also directed. The film is set to explore themes of cricket and personal struggles. For the film, he has reunited with his Rang De Basanti co-star Siddharth, and actress Nayanthara.