PM Modi’s doppelganger Vikas Mahante says it was him, not deepfake in viral Garba video

After Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pointed to the misuse of Deepfake AI becoming increasingly concerning while mentioning a Garba video that showed his lookalike, a new detail emerged in the incident. PM Modi’s doppelganger Vikas Mahante has now claimed that the dance video did not have a deepfake of the Indian Prime Minister but instead, it was him who was captured dancing with a group of women as shown in the mentioned video.

The development comes after the Indian PM while lending his support for the new possibilities emerging from AI tech has also called on the world leaders to work together on regulations to address any risks. Speaking at a programme earlier, PM Modi spoke of the mentioned video and urged the citizens to remain alert on the misuse of deepfakes. 

While taking to the Instagram social media platform, Mahante wrote, “Shedding the light on the recent issue of deepfake raised by our Honourable Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi ji, I would like to address you all that the person in the viral video is me, Mr Vikas Mahante.” 

“As an artist and an actor, I am invited to many such events for being a prominent lookalike of our PM. I would like to clarify that in no way, I claim to be or impersonate Modi ji and do no such thing that would tarnish his image as the Prime Minister of India. It is my honour to share his ideologies amongst people who love and respect him and I hope to continue to do that in the future as well. I hope to continue to do that in the future as well,” the businessman’s post on Instagram added. 

The video gained widespread attention after Modi at an event cautioned that it looked “very real” while also clarifying that it was not him and he has not played Garba since he was young.

A local media outlet in a fact check also revealed that Mahante posted a video on November 7 which suggested that it was him and not a deepfake. In the video, Mahante was seen speaking about an invitation he received to be a chief guest at a ‘Diwali Mela’ in London.

Substantiating that the video was not deepfake, the report claimed that Mahante’s attire was also the same as seen in the video.

Many individuals have become the victim of deepfakes that have leveled up worries. Recently, Indian Actress Rashmika Mandanna fell victim to deepfakes. The morphed video, which was watched widely, showed a woman in a black dress with Rashmika’s face in the place of the woman’s face. 

(With inputs from agencies)