AI-Generated Film Poster Sparks Outrage Among Sikh Community in Mumbai

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An AI-generated poster for the film Dhurandhar: The Revenge, depicting Ranveer Singh in Sikh attire holding a cigarette, sparked outrage among the Sikh community in Mumbai. Complaints were filed with police, alleging the poster and film scenes disrespect Sikh religious sentiments, leading to community backlash and formal investigations.[AI generated]

Why's our monitor labelling this an incident or hazard?

An AI system was used to generate the controversial poster, which directly led to harm in the form of violation of religious sentiments and cultural disrespect, a form of harm to communities and a breach of rights. The complaint and public outrage indicate that the harm is realized, not just potential. Therefore, this event meets the criteria for an AI Incident rather than a hazard or complementary information.[AI generated]
AI principles
Respect of human rightsSafety

Industries
Arts, entertainment, and recreationMedia, social platforms, and marketing

Affected stakeholders
General public

Harm types
Psychological

Severity
AI incident

Business function:
Marketing and advertisement

AI system task:
Content generation


Articles about this incident or hazard

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Ranveer Singh In Trouble As Sikh Community Files Complaint Over <i>Dhurandhar 2</i> AI Poster

2026-03-22
NDTV
Why's our monitor labelling this an incident or hazard?
An AI system was used to generate the controversial poster, which directly led to harm in the form of violation of religious sentiments and cultural disrespect, a form of harm to communities and a breach of rights. The complaint and public outrage indicate that the harm is realized, not just potential. Therefore, this event meets the criteria for an AI Incident rather than a hazard or complementary information.
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FIR filed against Dhurandhar 2 by Sikh community for disrespecting Gurbani and AI poster- Moneycontrol.com

2026-03-23
MoneyControl
Why's our monitor labelling this an incident or hazard?
An AI system was used to generate a controversial poster that disrespects Sikh religious sentiments, leading to a formal complaint and community outrage. The harm is to the community's religious sentiments, which qualifies as harm to communities under the framework. Since the AI-generated poster is the direct cause of the offense and complaint, this constitutes an AI Incident. The harm is realized (community outrage, police complaint) and directly linked to the AI-generated content.
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Dhurandhar's AI poster irks Sikh Community, complaint filed against makers, Ranveer Singh

2026-03-23
WION
Why's our monitor labelling this an incident or hazard?
The poster was created using AI, which is explicitly mentioned. The harm involves violation of religious rights and harm to community sentiments, which fits the definition of harm to communities and violations of rights. The AI system's use in generating the offensive content directly led to the harm (complaints and outrage). Although the poster is fan-made and not official, the harm has materialized due to the AI-generated image's circulation. Hence, this is an AI Incident rather than a hazard or complementary information.