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How a Jalandhar Couple’s Rise to Social Media Stardom Was Derailed by Extortion, Morphed Videos, and the Dark Side of Virality
In the age of social media, fame can arrive overnight — but so can infamy. The story of Sehaj Arora and Gurpreet Kaur, the couple behind Punjab’s beloved “Kulhad Pizza,” is a cautionary tale about the double-edged sword of viral fame, the dangers of digital harassment, and the very real consequences of content going viral for all the wrong reasons.
The Rise of Kulhad Pizza
It all started with a simple, brilliant idea. Sehaj Arora, a young entrepreneur from Jalandhar, Punjab, began serving pizza in traditional Indian clay cups — kulhads — at a street-side stall. The concept was a fusion of East and West: the beloved Italian dish prepared and presented in a vessel deeply rooted in Indian culture. The pizza filling — a medley of paneer, corn, vegetables, signature sauces, chilli flakes, and molten mozzarella — was baked right inside the kulhad, giving it a rustic, earthy flavour unlike anything available at a regular pizzeria.
When videos of their stall started circulating on social media in 2022, the internet was instantly captivated. The visual appeal of food being prepared and served in a clay cup, combined with the couple’s warm, relatable chemistry, made their content incredibly shareable. Millions of views poured in on YouTube, Instagram, and other platforms. Sehaj and Gurpreet became internet celebrities almost overnight, with a growing fanbase that followed their love story, their business journey, and their everyday lives.
For a while, it seemed like the perfect entrepreneurial fairytale — two young people from Punjab, building something unique from scratch, and earning national recognition for it.
The Storm Breaks: A Video Goes Viral for the Wrong Reasons
In September 2023, everything changed. A deeply personal and explicit video allegedly featuring the couple began circulating aggressively on social media platforms. The clip spread like wildfire, drawing millions of curious clicks, generating memes, and igniting fierce debates online. The timing was particularly devastating — Gurpreet had just given birth to their first child mere days before the controversy erupted.
Sehaj immediately took to Instagram to address the crisis. In an emotional video message, he was categorical: the clip was “completely fake” and had been generated using artificial intelligence. He revealed that approximately 15 days before the video went viral, they had received a threatening message on Instagram from an unknown sender who demanded money in exchange for not releasing the alleged footage. The couple had refused to pay, and the blackmailer had followed through on their threat.
The couple appealed to the public to stop sharing and spreading the video. “We just became parents,” Sehaj pleaded. “Please don’t do this to us.”
The Extortion Plot Unravelled
The police moved swiftly. After the couple filed an official complaint at a Jalandhar police station, investigators traced the extortion back to a shocking source: a former female employee of the Kulhad Pizza outlet, who had reportedly been fired for unsatisfactory performance.
According to Punjab Police, the accused had created a fake Instagram account on September 7 and messaged the couple, demanding Rs. 20,000 to prevent the video from being leaked online. She provided a bank account number and a deadline for the transfer. When the couple refused, she released the video publicly.
Police traced the bank account, identified the accused, and arrested her under Sections 384 (extortion) and 509 (insult to a woman’s modesty) of the Indian Penal Code, along with relevant provisions of the Information Technology (IT) Act. The arrest was seen as swift police action, though the damage — as is often the case with viral content — had already been done.
The Aftermath: Death Threats, Political Pressure, and a Hunger Strike
The controversy did not end with the arrest. Multiple layers of drama continued to unfold. The couple alleged that a YouTuber named Karan Dutta had played a role in amplifying the controversy, though Dutta denied any wrongdoing and threatened a defamation case in return. The couple claimed they were facing political pressure to sign a settlement (razinama) and publicly refused, stating they possessed sufficient evidence to pursue the case.
Meanwhile, a woman staged a hunger strike outside the District Collector’s office in protest, alleging that comments made by Sehaj’s mother in the wake of the controversy were insulting to women broadly. The polarised public reaction — some defending the couple, others mocking or vilifying them — reflected the ugliest side of internet mob culture.
As if the MMS controversy was not enough, the couple later made headlines again when they were booked by Jalandhar Police in November 2023 for brandishing firearms in a video posted on social media — a bailable offence, but yet another controversy piled onto an already battered public image.
They are currently living in the United Kingdom.
In January 2025, Sehaj confirmed the move through an emotional Instagram reel, giving viewers a glimpse of their final moments in India — bidding goodbye to family and loved ones before starting a new life in the UK.
They moved together with their young son, Waris, seeking a fresh start after months of controversy, online trolling, and death threats that severely impacted both their personal lives and their business.
There had been turbulence in their relationship too — rumours of marital discord and divorce surfaced after the couple unfollowed each other on social media, but those speculations were put to rest as the duo relocated to the UK together.
The factors that pushed them out of India were layered:
- Backlash from Nihang Sikhs, who staged a protest outside their restaurant demanding Sehaj return his turban or stop posting videos with his wife, claiming the leaked videos negatively influenced children.
- Ongoing death threats even after the MMS controversy was legally resolved.
- Their former employee, Tanisha Verma, who was responsible for leaking the footage, had been arrested — but the damage to their reputation and mental health had already taken its toll..
Family members confirmed that the couple simply wants to start over and give their son a new beginning. As of now, they appear to be keeping a lower profile, focused on rebuilding their lives away from the relentless scrutiny they faced in India.
Lessons from the Kulhad Pizza Controversy
The Kulhad Pizza saga raises several urgent questions about the world we now live in.
First, the weaponisation of AI and morphed content. The alleged use of AI to generate a fake intimate video is a chilling indicator of how accessible deepfake technology has become. When anyone with a grievance — a fired employee, a jilted ex, or a random troll — can potentially fabricate compromising content about another person, the implications for privacy and dignity are staggering. India urgently needs stronger legal frameworks to address AI-generated defamatory content.
Second, the complicity of the audience. Every person who clicked, shared, or memed that alleged video contributed to the couple’s trauma. Social media virality is not passive — it is driven by human choices. Before sharing explosive content about real people, users must pause and ask: Is this verified? What harm does sharing this cause? The old social media reflex of “share now, think never” needs to change.
Third, the price of fame. The Kulhad Pizza couple built their following by inviting the public into their lives — their business, their marriage, their food. That openness is what made them beloved. But it also made them targets. This is a dilemma that every social media creator faces: the intimacy that drives engagement also creates vulnerability.
Fourth, the need for faster platform accountability. Despite both Instagram and other platforms having policies against non-consensual intimate content, such videos continue to circulate for extended periods before being removed. Platform accountability must be stronger, more responsive, and more humane.
Conclusion
The Kulhad Pizza viral video controversy is not just a tabloid saga — it is a mirror held up to the state of digital culture in India and beyond. At its core is a young couple who dared to dream, built something beautiful, and were punished for their visibility. Their story deserves to be told not with voyeurism, but with empathy.
Kulhad Pizza, as a concept, remains a delightful symbol of Indian innovation and jugaad. But the couple behind it will long remember the year their fame became a weapon used against them. May their new chapter in the UK bring the peace, privacy, and normalcy that viral fame so cruelly denied them in India.
This guest post is intended as a factual and reflective piece on a public controversy. It does not endorse the sharing or seeking of any explicit or private content related to any individuals.
