The issue of Bollywood personality rights has entered the spotlight as some of India’s biggest celebrities move to protect their identities in the face of rising AI deepfake misuse. In recent weeks, director Karan Johar, actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, and actor Abhishek Bachchan have petitioned the Delhi High Court to safeguard their names, voices, images, and even mannerisms from exploitation.
Their move reflects a growing concern: the misuse of celebrity identities in unauthorized advertisements, merchandise, fake online profiles, and obscene AI-generated content. The High Court has already upheld these petitions, ordering platforms and defendants to remove unlawful materials.
What Are Bollywood Personality Rights?
Bollywood personality rights—also known as publicity rights—are an individual’s ability to control and commercially benefit from their own identity. This includes:
- Name and likeness
- Voice and mannerisms
- Catchphrases and gestures
These rights ensure that celebrities can profit from endorsements and brand associations, while also preventing unauthorized use of their persona in ways that could harm their reputation.
In India, however, there is no codified law exclusively protecting personality rights. Courts instead rely on common law principles and judicial precedents to decide such cases.
Past Legal Battles in Bollywood
The recent petitions are not isolated cases. Several celebrities have previously taken legal action to defend their image:
- In 2023, actor Anil Kapoor sued websites for misusing his name, likeness, and voice, as well as exploiting his famous catchphrase “jhakaas.”
- The Delhi High Court also upheld actor Jackie Shroff’s rights, prohibiting others from using his image, name, or even nicknames without consent.
- The earliest instance dates back to 2002, when singer Daler Mehndi sued over unauthorized dolls made in his likeness. The Delhi High Court banned their sale, setting a precedent for later cases.
These rulings highlight how Indian courts are gradually shaping the boundaries of Bollywood personality rights through judicial interpretation.
The Global Comparison
Unlike India, many countries have statutory laws to safeguard personality rights.
- In the US, these rights are treated as property and can even be inherited. Elvis Presley’s estate, for example, continues to control his image decades after his death.
- In Germany and Japan, personality rights are explicitly protected under law.
- Denmark recently proposed reforms to copyright law to ensure individuals own the rights to their own voice, face, and body.
In contrast, Indian law ties personality rights to the right to privacy under Article 21 of the Constitution. Since privacy rights expire with the individual, personality rights in India also end upon death.
This was seen in 2021, when actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s father attempted to block a film about his late son’s life. The court ruled against him, saying such rights were not heritable.
The Deepfake Challenge
The latest surge in AI deepfakes has intensified calls for stronger protections. Deepfakes allow anyone to generate realistic but fake videos or images, often placing celebrities in compromising or obscene situations.
Lawyers argue that codifying Bollywood personality rights into a formal statute could:
- Establish clearer definitions and protections
- Allow heritability clauses to pass rights to family members
- Provide compensation and damages for reputational and financial harm
Currently, courts can only issue injunctions to stop the spread of unlawful content. But by the time action is taken, the celebrity’s reputation may already be damaged.
The Debate Over Codification
Not everyone agrees on codifying Bollywood personality rights into law.
- Advocates, like lawyer Nikhil Krishnamurthy, say codification would bring clarity, consistency, and deterrence.
- Opponents, like Vindhya S Mani, argue that the absence of codified law allows courts broader interpretive power to adapt rulings to complex modern challenges.
This debate raises an important question: should India prioritize rigid statutory rules or flexible judicial interpretation to safeguard celebrity identities?
Technology vs. The Law
The fight over Bollywood personality rights is part of a larger global concern: how laws can keep pace with rapidly evolving technology.
- In Hollywood, writers went on strike in 2024 over the risks of AI replacing human creativity.
- Actress Scarlett Johansson accused OpenAI of mimicking her voice for its AI systems—though the company denied the claim.
These incidents underline how identity, creativity, and technology are increasingly colliding. Even the strongest laws often lag behind innovation.
The Road Ahead
India’s journey toward protecting Bollywood personality rights is far from over. While courts have been proactive in recent years, the lack of a dedicated statute continues to create inconsistencies.
For now, awareness remains key. Celebrities, citizens, and creators alike need to understand their rights and be prepared to defend them. As digital technology grows more sophisticated, the ability to safeguard identity—whether through codified law or judicial precedent—will define the balance between fame, privacy, and exploitation in the years ahead.
Source: BBC News
