In the rapidly evolving world of Artificial Intelligence, the line between factual data and “hallucinations” remains a significant challenge. Recently, Grok, the AI developed by Elon Musk’s xAI, became the latest victim of this digital phenomenon, triggering a massive wave of memes and discussions within the Tamil cinema community on X (formerly Twitter).
The controversy erupted when Grok responded to a user query by confidently stating that Thalapathy Vijay had won seven Filmfare Awards South for Best Actor (Tamil). To make matters worse, the AI listed several movies as award-winning performances that left fans and critics scratching their heads. According to Grok, Vijay secured trophies for films including Pokkiri (2006), Villu (2009), Kaavalan (2011), Thuppakki (2012), Puli (2015), Mersal (2017), and Beast (2022).
The Reality Check
While Vijay is undoubtedly one of the biggest icons of Indian cinema with a massive trophy cabinet, the specific claim of seven Filmfare Best Actor wins is factually incorrect. In reality, while Vijay has been nominated multiple times, he has historically had a “complicated” relationship with the Filmfare black lady. For instance, films like Puli and Beast—while commercially significant in their own right—were not critically acclaimed to the point of winning Best Actor Filmfare trophies.
“Vijay didn’t win anything; he was just nominated for many of these,” noted one user on X, while another joked, “Is Grok also under some kind of influence?”
The Social Media “Troll-Fest”
The Tamil Twitterati, known for their sharp wit and meme-making skills, wasted no time. Users posted snippets from popular Tamil comedies to mock the AI’s “over-confidence.” Images of actors Dhanush and Vadivelu were used to illustrate the absurdity of the situation. The hashtag #Grok began trending as fans of rival actors used the error to poke fun at the data, while Vijay fans expressed frustration over the misinformation being attributed to “Wikipedia sources.”
The incident highlights a recurring issue with Large Language Models (LLMs): the “hallucination” effect. AI models often piece together fragments of data to create a response that sounds authoritative but is fundamentally flawed. In this case, Grok likely conflated “nominations,” “popular awards,” and “box office success” into a single, incorrect “wins” category.
Grok’s Redemptive Response
As the backlash grew, Grok eventually issued a clarification. In a rare “self-aware” moment, the AI replied in a mix of English and colloquial Tamil: “Haha, naan bodhai illa da! (I’m not intoxicated!). That was a mistake in the previous response. Actually, Vijay has nominations but no Best Actor wins for these specific titles. Sorry for the mix-up!”
This retraction, while appreciated, has opened a broader conversation about the reliability of AI as a primary source for entertainment history. Experts suggest that while AI is great for creative writing, users must “verify before they vilify” or, in this case, “verify before they celebrate.”