India, June 3 -- May 2026 may well be remembered as the month deepfakes went mainstream in celebrity culture. Within weeks, actors including Madhuri Dixit, Katrina Kaif, Urvashi Rautela and Rukmini Vasanth found themselves battling AI-generated images and videos that spread rapidly online, once again raising questions around consent, misinformation and digital identity. Here are some of the most talked-about cases: Days after the 2026 Met Gala, AI-generated images showing Katrina Kaif posing on the iconic MET steps sparked excitement among fans. The only problem: she was never there. On May 5, a source dismissed reports of her debut, telling HT that the actor had not attended the event. The confusion stemmed from highly convincing AI-created images that spread rapidly online. Fresh off her fifth Cannes Film Festival appearance, Urvashi Rautela found herself responding to a viral AI-generated image that ranked Bollywood actors in a fictional hierarchy of global stardom. The image portrayed some actors seated on thrones while others, including Urvashi, appeared kneeling. Reacting to the graphic, she urged fans to stop comparisons and "toxicity", saying every actor has their own journey. In May, AI-generated images resembling actor Rukmini Vasanth in a green bikini circulated widely online, prompting speculation that she had participated in a photoshoot. The actor quickly issued a clarification on social media, stating that the images were entirely fake and fabricated and had no connection to her. Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni recently criticised the circulation of AI-generated images depicting her in lingerie after some users shared them as genuine photographs. While condemning the misinformation, Meloni also joked that the creators had "improved" her appearance, using the incident to highlight how easily fabricated visuals can be weaponised in public discourse. Ahead of her appearances at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, several ultra-realistic AI-generated images imagining Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in elaborate couture looks flooded social media. Many fan accounts circulated the fabricated visuals before the actor's actual red-carpet appearances, underlining how AI-generated celebrity content is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish from reality....