'It's rubbish': Javed Akhtar slams deepfake video showing him with 'topi'; legal action likely

Veteran lyricist and screenwriter Javed Akhtar has condemned a deepfake video that falsely claims he has undergone a religious conversion. The veteran poet, lyricist and screenwriter took to social media to set the record straight and warn of legal consequences for those behind the fabrication.

Akhtar has spent decades publicly identifying as an atheist and a secular thinker. His opinions often generate debate on social media.

The controversy began on Thursday, January 1, 2026, when a manipulated video started circulating across social media platforms. The clip featured an



AI-generated image of Javed Akhtar wearing a skullcap (topi), accompanied by claims that he had "turned to God." Akhtar took to X (formerly Twitter) and wasted no time in calling out the deception.

"A fake video is in circulation showing my fake computer generated picture with a topi on my head claiming that ultimately I have turned to God . It is rubbish . I am seriously considering to report this to the cyber police and ultimately dragged the person responsible for this fake news and those few who forward it to the court for damaging my reputation and credibility," he strongly wrote on the platform.