Meena Kandasamy’s new novel: A scandalous deepfake video of an Indian Marxist woman goes viral

There is always a first time

It comes to me like any other video on WhatsApp, from my best friend Nimmi and with the words Forwarded many times italicised at the top.

the random shit I woke up to, check it out babe. Sorry to ruin your morning :/

Nimmi is the most chronically offline person I know, and now she has sent me something that has clearly left a mark. Half-awake, I open the link expecting to see some politically incorrect spoof or stand-up comedy. Instead, I am presented with a steamy video.

There is a young woman, and she is being fucked. The camera is sideways, stashed away inside some closet. It looks like any standardissue hotel room.

The video begins in media res – the woman, lying on her back at the edge of the bed, her hair wild, legs in the air. I zoom in, stretching the screen to see her face up close, but I cannot find any identifying features. The man is out of the frame. He is represented only by his cock. I ­fast-forward to where she is slowly turning towards the camera. Even without zooming in further, I can see that it is my fucking face.

I have made home...

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