What is the claim?
A set of visuals featuring Monalisa Bhosle, a girl from the Mahakumbh festival who went viral, dancing and posing for photojournalists have been circulated online. The posts have been shared following reports of her signing a Hindi movie.
Bhosle, a girl from the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, gained fame after her images were circulated on social media. She was selling beads with her family at the Mahakumbh festival, one of the largest Hindu gatherings in the world, which began on January 13, 2025, and will continue until February 26.
The viral clips surfaced on various platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and X. One such video shows Bhosle wearing a red dress and dancing to a Hindi song at a riverbank, the second video shows her in a black dress dancing at a beach, and the third one shows her waving and posing for photojournalists. Archived versions of all these posts can be accessed here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
Logically Facts found that all these videos are deepfakes. The first two videos are of a social media influencer, while the third featured a Bollywood actor interacting with the media.
How did we find it?
A closer examination of the viral clips revealed noticeable inconsistencies, such as unnatural facial movements and changes in skin tone. We were also able to trace the original videos, which were manipulated to create these clips.
Video 1
The first viral video showing Bhosle in a red dress contains a watermark of an Instagram account named “ni8.out9.” Upon reviewing this account, we found the same video (archived here) on the user’s profile, where the bio read “digital creator.” The video, however, was shared with a disclaimer clarifying that it was digitally altered.
The disclaimer in the caption says, “Disclaimer: This video was created using face swap technology for entertainment purposes only. The images and likenesses of actors shown here are digitally altered and do not reflect the real appearances, endorsements, or opinions of the individuals depicted. No intention to deceive or mislead; all content is meant solely for fun and creative expression. Viewer discretion is advised.”
A reverse image search on this clip led us to the original video posted on Instagram by a social media influencer named Tanu Rawat (archived here) on December 11, 2024. A comparison confirmed that Bhosle’s face had been swapped with Rawat’s in the viral clip.
Video 2
The second video was also uploaded by the same user “ni8.out9’s” on Instagram (archived here). Like the previous video, this one, too, featured Rawat. The original video was posted on October 14, 2024 (archived here) and it has been horizontally flipped to add Bhosle’s face.
Furthermore, a review of the account ‘ni8.out9’ revealed multiple such altered videos of Bhosle, all of which carry disclaimers stating they are not real.
Video 3
The original video featured Bollywood actor Wamiqa Gabbi. The actual footage can be viewed here and here (archived links here and here).
We also ran these videos through an online AI detection tool, Hive Moderation, which showed that videos contain “AI-generated or deepfake content.”
The above available evidence establishes that the clips are deepfakes.
The verdict
The viral clips of Monalisa Bhosle dancing and posing for the media are digitally manipulated. The original videos featured social media influencer Tanu Rawat and Bollywood actor Wamiqa Gabbi.
(This story was originally published by Logically Facts, and republished by NDTV as part of the Shakti Collective)
