‘When did Messi and Ronaldo come to Malaysia’: Penang eatery goes viral with AI images of celebs
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Confused netizens were in shock by how realistic the photos were.
PHOTOS: SCREENGRAB FROM NASIKANDARSULAIMAN/TIKTOK
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What is one cuisine that the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Jackie Chan, Shah Rukh Khan, Tom Cruise and Tim Cook all enjoy?
Apparently, nasi kandar, specifically from a stall in Penang. Or so it seems.
TikTok posts by Nasi Kandar Sulaiman, the Malaysian eatery that specialises in the dish, have gone viral after they depicted AI-generated images of these celebrities patronising the restaurant.
Most of the posts were accompanied by captions that mention that the images were generated by AI.
The first of such videos was posted on Sept 4, featuring football royalty Messi and Ronaldo, either posing for selfies in front of the restaurant, or deep in discussion over a plate of nasi kandar, a steamed rice dish paired with various curries and side dishes.
That post garnered 1.4 million views, as at Sept 25.
In another post, actor Arnold Schwarzenegger – famous for his role as the Terminator in The Terminator film series – is seen taking a selfie with a robot at the eatery.
AI-generated images of Tom Cruise (left) and Arnold Schwarzenegger at Nasi Kandar Sulaiman.
PHOTOS: SCREENGRAB FROM NASIKANDARSULAIMAN/TIKTOK
According to the caption, Schwarzenegger had visited the eatery to check if a humanoid robot spotted at the store, shown in an earlier post, is the “same as his robot Terminator”.
“At first, (Schwarzenegger) came because of the robot, but then he smelled NKS’ curry,” read the caption, which added that the action star remained at the eatery to dine on chicken rice and lamb shank.
Another post featured Hong Kong action star Chan jumping over a falling chair in the outlet, while Fast and Furious star Vin Diesel is depicted in another video playing with a remote-controlled car while the restaurant’s employees continue their duties unperturbed.
The most popular star? Bollywood’s Shah Rukh Khan, who drew 2.4 million views. Among the different images in the post, the actor is seen at the cashier’s counter, seemingly ready to foot the RM10 (S$3) bill.
One of the latest stars to “visit” the establishment was actor Tom Cruise – well-known for his role as secret agent Ethan Hunt in the Mission Impossible movies. He is seen hanging from a ceiling fan on the premises in the post dated Sept 24.
“After eating, (Cruise) became energetic and really wanted to show off some of his moves... So he immediately jumped and held on to the fan in the store. The fan spun and (Cruise) could only hold on to it nonchalantly,” read the post’s caption.
Confused netizens were in shock by how realistic the photos were.
“Is this real?” asked one user. Another said: “Since when did Messi and Ronaldo come to Malaysia?”
But several perceptive people pointed out that the photos were likely to be AI-generated, noting that the celebrities were in different outfits for the photos.
The eatery’s posts have since evoked laughs and even requests from netizens wanting to see fictional Japanese superhero Ultraman and K-pop BTS star Jung Kook.
