Ayesha Khan who received wide appreciation for her song Shararat by Aditya DharDhurandhar recently spoke about the flip side of visibility and fame, touching on online judgement, AI-generated content and the lack of consent in paparazzi culture.
“You become an open book”
Speaking about the downsides of being in the public eye, Aisha told Pinkvilla: “Of course, the downside is that you’re like an open book. Everyone has an opinion about you and they start writing it.” She admitted that there are moments when the constant control seems unbelievable. “Sometimes I wish we could just turn it off,” she added, urging people to be mindful of the emotional impact their words can have on others.Although she acknowledged that a person develops resilience over time, she noted that not everyone can handle such pressure.
“Artificial intelligence that has started is very scary”
Ayesha expressed deep concern over the misuse of AI, calling it disturbing and alarming. “The AI that’s started is very scary. You’ve created an entire app to sexualize women on the Internet… I can’t humanly process this information that this is happening,” she said, adding that such content has become dangerously normalized.
Recalling a personal incident, she told how her mother once came across an AI-generated video of her. “There was a picture of me and Vijay sir…it turned into an AI video of us hugging. I had to tell her that’s never happened before,” Aisha shared, pointing out how compelling such content can be for people unfamiliar with AI technology.She added that she had seen several such altered images of herself online.
“They just made it from an image and it actually looks so realistic … it’s sad that most people don’t know it’s artificial intelligence,” she said.
“People don’t understand consent”
Talking about paparazzi videos and viral videos, Ayesha emphasized the importance of consent. “People don’t understand consent. You can’t do these things without asking,” she said, responding to comments that often blame celebrities for their clothing choices.Making a sharp comparison, she remarked: “I bathe too, but you can’t bathe me.
It’s my choice… Who gave you the choice?” reiterating that consent cannot be assumed.
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Invoking the “Oh Moment” culture.
Aisha was not shy about calling for a culture of capturing and sharing embarrassing moments. “They know it’s wrong … you capture someone’s oh-so-moment and even post it publicly,” she said, questioning the ethics of such content.At the same time, she admitted that not all paparazzi act in the same way. “There are good people. There are good dads,” she said, adding that many photographers respect boundaries when she reports discomfort. “If I say please don’t publish it, they won’t publish it,” she noted.Summing up on a balanced note, Aisha said she is focusing on the positives. “Like everything else, there’s always a good side and a bad side … we take care of the good side,” she said.
