Key Highlights

  • The threat: Somy Ali says deepfake tools have become so easy to use that anyone's image can be misused in minutes.
  • Satire vs abuse: She says caricature is fair, but creating fake sexual or degrading content without consent is not.
  • Shared blame: "The person who shares is not a spectator. Forwarding is participation."
  • The other side: Through her NGO No More Tears, she sees AI helping survivors seek support privately, in their own language.

Somy Ali, known for films such as Anth, Teesra Kaun?, Chupp, Krishna Avtaar and Andolan, now works with survivors of abuse and exploitation through her NGO, No More Tears. She says the conversation around deepfakes has moved far beyond celebrity scandals.

"The gap between 'possible' and 'everyday' has closed," she says. A stolen video and a few minutes, she points out, can now be enough to place a woman in a situation she was never part of, and the content can spread before the victim even knows.

Where Satire Ends

Having worked in films, Somy says public figures have always had their images edited, caricatured or satirised, and political cartoons are part of democratic life. But manufacturing illegal, sexual or humiliating acts using someone's face is different.

"A still from a movie on a wall is not the same as a lie that can destroy a private person," she says.

She does not consider AI evil, but says safeguards have not kept pace. "The tool is not innocent. The ease is the wound."

"Forwarding Is Participation"

Somy believes responsibility is shared. Platforms, she says, have access to accounts, files and timestamps and must act quickly when non-consensual content is reported. Audiences, too, must pause before sharing: Is it satire? Did the person consent? Who could be harmed?

"The person who shares is not a spectator. Forwarding is participation," she says. "Verification is not cold. It is protection."

Why It Matters: The Same Technology Can Protect

What sets Somy's view apart is her focus on survivors. Through No More Tears, she sees AI making help easier to reach for women too afraid to approach authorities or support centres in person. Online assistance in multiple languages could let them seek help privately, at a time when they feel safe.

"At No More Tears, we are not anti-AI. We are anti-abandonment," she says. "Let the same country that can generate a face also generate a door, one that opens at night."

AI in Filmmaking

She does not want the film industry to reject AI either. It can help restore old films, plan scenes and create content with limited resources, but, she says, creative freedom cannot come at the cost of another person's dignity or consent.

If You Are a Victim of Deepfakes

  • Report the content on the platform where it appears.
  • In India, report cybercrime through the National Cyber Crime Helpline 1930 or the cybercrime reporting portal.
  • Save links and screenshots as evidence before content is removed.

The Bottom Line

For Somy Ali, the measure of AI is not how real its images look, but whether it helps the people with the least power. The same technology that can harm, she argues, must also open doors to safety.