Bollywood stars like Amitabh Bachchan and Hrithik Roshan are pursuing legal action to protect their “personality rights” amid rising AI deepfakes and unauthorized use of their identity. Courts are recognizing this as an extension of the right to privacy<\/p>\n
Published Date – 19 October 2025, 12:24 PM <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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Mumbai:<\/strong> In a digital landscape increasingly distorted by AI-generated deception, India\u2019s top film stars are making a beeline to courts to reclaim ownership of their most valuable asset \u2014 \u201cthemselves\u201d.<\/p>\n A growing list of Bollywood artists, including Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, and Hrithik Roshan, are filing lawsuits to enforce their \u201cpersonality rights.\u201d This legal approach is a direct response to the alarming surge in sophisticated AI-driven deep fakes and the unauthorised commercial use of their images, voices, and photographs.<\/p>\n For these actors, the threat goes beyond a simple advertisement without permission. As technology makes it easier to create hyper-realistic, yet entirely fabricated, images and videos, the potential for reputational damage has become \u201ctruly alarming,\u201d a point recently underscored by the Bombay High Court while granting protection to actors Akshay Kumar and Suniel Shetty.<\/p>\n \u201cMore than misuse for commercial purposes, what is more worrying and threatening is deepfake images and content,\u201d Advocate Janay Jain, who represented a group of celebrities in the Bombay High Court,\u00a0 said.<\/p>\n \u201cSuch content causes grave harm to the person\u2019s reputation and image,\u201d Jain opined.<\/p>\n Personality rights grant an individual legal control over the commercial and public use of their identity \u2014 their name, image, voice, signature, or any other distinctive attribute easily recognised by the public.<\/p>\n Misuse can range from fake endorsements and unauthorised merchandise to the most insidious threat \u2014 malicious AI-generated deepfakes.<\/p>\n While India lacks a specific, codified law on personality rights, courts are stepping up, broadening the definition of the fundamental right to privacy by issuing injunctions and restraining the misuse of an artist\u2019s persona without due permission.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we are witnessing now is not just a trend but a necessary evolution where artists are finally asserting control over their persona,\u201d said Advocate Sana Raees Khan, who appeared for singer Kumar Sanu.<\/p>\n \u201cThey know that their identity is their property and right,\u201d Khan observed.<\/p>\n The lawyer said that celebrities, galvanised by the rise of digital media, are now more aware of the legal and commercial value of their identity.<\/p>\n This wave of litigation is about setting boundaries and ensuring that the public image, earned through years of gruelling work, isn\u2019t exploited by others for profit, Khan added.<\/p>\n \u201cThe right to publicity and right to personality are extensions of an individual\u2019s right to privacy guaranteed under the Constitution of India,\u201d Khan said, adding that a person has exclusive control over the commercial use of their name, image, voice and other distinctive attributes of their identity.<\/p>\n The fight for personality rights isn\u2019t entirely new, says Jain and referred to a 2001 case filed by noted Punjabi singer Daler Mehendi and superstar Rajnikanth in 2015.<\/p>\n In 2001, Mehendi filed a suit in the Delhi High Court against dolls emulating his flamboyant image being marketed without obtaining proper permission from him or his company.<\/p>\n In 2015, Rajnikanth filed a suit in the Madras High Court against the makers of the movie \u2018Main hoon Rajinikanth\u2019, claiming that the use of his name was infringing upon his personality rights.<\/p>\n However, the recent rush of court action has been aggressive and comprehensive, protecting highly-specific and distinctive attributes, which include Amitabh Bachchan\u2019s famous \u201cComputer ji and lock kiya jaye\u201d catchphrase from \u2018Kaun Banega Crorepati\u2019 TV show, Anil Kapoor\u2019s signature \u201cJhakaas\u201d or Jackie Shroff\u2019s words \u201cBhidu and Jackie.\u201d<\/p>\n The high courts have also shielded the personality rights of experienced singer Asha Bhosle and singer Arijit Singh from unauthorised use on social media and AI platforms in recent decisions.<\/p>\n As the age of technology becomes increasingly adept at blurring the distinction between fact and fiction, India\u2019s stars are making one thing very clear: their image is their own, and they are taking the law to make certain they are the sole proprietors of their own persona.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source telanganatoday.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Bollywood stars like Amitabh Bachchan and Hrithik Roshan are pursuing legal action to protect their “personality rights” amid rising AI deepfakes and unauthorized use of their identity. Courts are recognizing this as an extension of the right to privacy Published Date – 19 October 2025, 12:24 PM
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