Deepfakes drive legal rush: Bollywood stars move courts as Personality Rights battles rise

Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai have moved courts to protect personality rights.

Personality rights are back in action and this time it is the Bachchans who have approached the courts for protection orders, joining the growing list of celebrities like Anil Kapoor and Jackie Shroff who approached courts to restrain unauthorised use of their personality, name and likeness for commercial use.

While Aishwarya Rai filed a plea targeting the website aishwaryaworld.com and other infringers, Abhishek Bachchan, a day later on September 10, filed a petition before the Delhi High Court seeking urgent protection of his publicity and personality rights.

Sharp rise

"We have seen a sharp rise in court cases and consultations on this subject, highlighting how urgent and critical this protection has become in the AI era," said Zameer Nathani, Global General Counsel, DNEG and Harvard Business School Alumni.

With the advent of AI (Artificial Intelligence) and deepfake technology, we are witnessing an unprecedented surge in Bollywood celebrities seeking legal protection of their personality rights, he added.

In the past year alone, at least half a dozen high‑profile public figures have moved the courts to secure injunctions safeguarding their personality rights, reflecting a sharp rise in such litigation, noted Essenese Obhan, Managing Partner, Obhan & Associates.

Also read: After Aishwarya Rai, Abhishek Bachchan seeks court action against misuse of name, image and AI-generated content

This includes recent matters before the Delhi High Court aimed at stopping AI‑generated deepfakes, fake endorsements, and unauthorised merchandise, he said.

"Correspondingly, there has been a noticeable increase in consultations from public figures across film, sports, and digital media, as more individuals recognise the need to proactively protect the commercial and reputational value of their identity,” Obhan added.

Clients want to know what preventive steps they can take and how quickly courts can intervene, said Abhinav Agnihotri, Partner Burgeon Law.

He said that the sudden increase of celebrities in India who are protecting their persona is because celebrities are now realising that a single manipulated video or unauthorised endorsement can cause irreparable reputational damage and economic loss. Celebrities have also realised that their personality has a direct monetary value in endorsements and branding. "Essentially, celebrities now see personality rights both as a matter of dignity, and of intellectual property and commercial control."

Back in 2022 when Amitabh Bachchan had moved the court to protect his personality rights, a lawyer had pointed out that not many people have enforced personality rights.

On the contrary, several landmark cases have underscored this trend in India recently, noted Nathani.

The Bombay High Court granted filmmaker Karan Johar relief by stopping a film from exploiting his name without consent. The Delhi High Court restrained misuse of Anil Kapoor’s persona, including his distinctive expressions and catchphrases. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan obtained injunctions against rogue websites using her photos and AI-generated content, while Abhishek Bachchan filed a similar petition to protect his identity from unauthorized merchandising.

Also read: Protecting Jhakkas! Anil Kapoor’s lawyer says celebrities’ unique character traits cannot be copied without authorisation

AI, deepfakes trigger surge

"These rulings signal a decisive judicial shift toward safeguarding celebrity identities in an increasingly AI-driven digital landscape," he added.

According to Obhan, the shift they are seeing is strategic. "It’s about building enforceable guardrails before harm occurs, ensuring that identity is not just protected after the fact, but actively managed as a valuable, rights‑bearing asset."

Icons like Amitabh Bachchan and Anil Kapoor have already secured injunctions against unauthorized use of their image and voice, and globally, stars like Tom Hanks and Scarlett Johansson are doing the same, Nathani noted.

Mathew Chacko, Partner, Spice Route Legal had earlier pointed out that personality rights gained prominence after Hollywood actors Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas sued Hello! magazine.

“When the Hollywood actors got married and Hello! took their pictures and put it in their publication, they sued the magazine. The actor-couple had also granted the licence to take photos of their wedding to another magazine. The court was of the opinion that Hello! magazine was interfering in the economics of a person’s livelihood and, therefore, said it will protect their personality right,” he had said.

Personality Rights in spotlight

Personality rights safeguard a celebrity’s name, likeness, voice, and digital identity from misuse, ensuring their brand value and reputation remain intact, Nathani explained.

"Personality rights refer to the exclusive right of an individual to control the use of their identity traits such as name, likeness, voice, signature gestures, or any unique characteristic against unauthorised commercial exploitation. These rights are recognised under the broader framework of Articles 19(1)(a) and 21 of the Constitution of India, 1950, ensuring that a celebrity’s persona is not misappropriated for commercial gain without consent," said Agnihotri.

In today’s hyper‑connected economy, a public figure’s identity functions as both a personal asset and a commercial brand, Obhan said. "The acceleration of generative AI, viral content platforms, and cross‑border e‑commerce has created unprecedented opportunities for unauthorised use — from synthetic endorsements to look‑alike merchandise."

This is prompting more individuals to treat personality rights as a core part of their intellectual property portfolio, rather than a niche legal remedy, he added.

Legally, personality rights in India are enforced through a mosaic of doctrines — the constitutional right to privacy, the tort of passing off, and statutory tools under the Trade Marks Act and Copyright Act, Obhan elucidated. "Courts have increasingly recognised that a persona has measurable economic value and that its misuse can amount to both commercial misappropriation and reputational injury."