Sonu Sood
Actor and Philanthropist
Actor and pandemic-era philanthropist — himself impersonated in AI deepfake scams — who made his directorial debut, Fateh, to dramatise the dangers of AI-driven cybercrime and deepfake fraud.
In his words
A lot of celebs are becoming victims … It’s a big concern, which needs to be addressed.
Biography
Sonu Sood (born 1973) is an actor known for villain and character roles across Hindi, Telugu and Tamil cinema, who became a national figure during the COVID-19 pandemic for organising large-scale relief and transport for stranded migrant workers.
Fateh: a film against deepfake crime
Sood turned director for the first time with Fateh (2025), an action thriller built around cybercrime and AI-enabled fraud. He drew on personal experience: his own face and voice had been morphed into deepfakes used to run financial scams on unsuspecting fans, with numerous police complaints filed over such impersonations across India.
Lots of people get cheated every day and fall in the trap. A lot of celebs are becoming victims.
Framing the film as urgent public awareness, Sood said that as a director he could “tell the story in the right way” and address an issue he considered a growing threat. His opposition is aimed squarely at the malicious use of AI — deepfakes and scams — rather than the technology in the abstract.
Where they stand in the war
Who backs them up
Sources & further reading
Canonical record: https://battlelines.ai/topic/sonu-sood