Last month, reports that comedian-actor Jamie Lever was marrying actor Yashvardhan Ahuja, son of actor Govinda, surfaced online after AI-generated fake wedding videos began circulating.
While Jamie initially found the reports funny, things became uncomfortable when people began believing the videos and contacting her father, actor-comedian Johnny Lever. “Initially, I found it funny. I was like, ‘Oh my God, look at this!’ I was sharing it with my cousins and everybody was laughing,” she recalls.
But what began as something she could laugh about soon took a different turn as the videos continued circulating. “It was shocking. It got really uncomfortable when my dad started getting calls from people abroad saying, ‘Johnny, you fixed your daughter’s wedding but you didn’t tell us. We are highly offended,’” she shares. The calls eventually made the situation difficult to dismiss as just another internet rumour. “Then my dad was like, now I’m getting out of hand where people are taking offence that you didn’t send an invitation for your daughter’s wedding. Now you need to please publicly clarify that this is not true,” Jamie recalls.
With more AI-generated videos continuing to surface, she felt the situation had gone beyond something she could simply laugh off. “I think the matter was getting a little out of hand because way too many videos started circulating and I was like, now it’s getting a little, like it’s not a laughing matter at all,” she says.
{{/usCountry}}With more AI-generated videos continuing to surface, she felt the situation had gone beyond something she could simply laugh off. “I think the matter was getting a little out of hand because way too many videos started circulating and I was like, now it’s getting a little, like it’s not a laughing matter at all,” she says.
{{/usCountry}}Jamie believes the link-up stemmed from her professional association with Yashvardhan. The two are working together on Sajid Khan’s Hero Ki Horrorine, a horror-comedy. “We have already announced that Govindaji’s son Yashvardhan (Ahuja) and I are going to be in a slapstick. And that’s probably why the whole link-up thing started,” she says. Talking about the film, she adds, “We’ve just gone all out, all crazy, full slapstick. So it’ll be, again, a fun ride that comes out in Jan.”
For the 38-year-old, the episode also reflects the tightrope comedians increasingly have to walk when dealing with audiences who can be quick to react to what they see and hear. “I think people are becoming overly sensitive. Anything you say, any joke you say, there is an immediate criticism or an immediate opinion about it on social media,” she says, adding, “I play safe when it comes to my comedy so that I don’t offend anyone. This is a full-time responsibility. Comedy is a 24-hour job.”