HC halts the release of film Shaadi Ke Director Karan Aur Johar for misusing filmmaker's name

Karan Johar files a lawsuit against Shaadi Ke Director Karan Aur Johar makers

The Bombay high court ruled in favor of Karan Johar on Friday and refused to allow the release of the film, Shaadi Ke Director Karan Aur Johar. The court observed that the title and content of the film violated filmmaker and producer Karan Johar’s privacy and personality rights, and infringed his brand value.

A single-judge bench led by Justice RI Chagla ruled that the title of the movie, Shaadi Ke Director Karan Aur Johar, would likely lead people to associate it directly with Karan Johar.

The court declared that using Johar's name and personal traits without permission violates his rights. The HC also ruled that just making some changes to the movie isn't enough to avoid confusing people. Additionally, the court didn't accept the argument that Johar took too long to take legal action.

The latest ruling came after Johar approached the high court in June 2024, requesting a restraint on the film's producers, Indiapride Advisory Pvt Ltd, from releasing the movie. Johar argued that “unless his consent is taken for using his personal attributes, such as his name and profession, there is a violation of such rights”.

Karan Johar told the court that he had sent a notice to the filmmakers on June 6, 2024, asking them not to use his name in the movie, but they ignored it. He made it clear that he has no connection to the film.

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Johar further alleged that the movie's script says bad things about him and could damage his reputation. He added that the script is for an adult film, and if it's released with his name in it, it would hurt his reputation even more.

The High Court agreed with Johar and stopped the film's release on June 13, 2024.

Indiapride Advisory then fought back in December 2024, asking the court to lift the ban on the film's release. Lawyer, Ashok Saraogi claimed that Johar waited too long to take action and only went to court at the last minute. He also said that Johar's name wasn't used directly in the film and offered to make changes to resolve the issue.