The Bombay High Court has granted interim relief in favor of actor Akshay Kumar, protecting him from unauthorized use of his likeness, image and voice through AI-generated content and deepfakes. The order marks an important step in the ongoing conversation about celebrity personality rights and the ethical use of artificial intelligence in media.
Akshay Kumar gets legal protection from unauthorized use of AI-generated content
Justice Arif Doctor stressed the growing urgency of tackling impersonation and misinformation driven by emerging technologies, saying such misuse of a public figure’s image “not only damages his stature but also has larger consequences.” The order follows a civil suit filed by the actor – who is legally known as Akshay Hariom Bhatia – to stop individuals and online platforms from exploiting his personality without consent.
Representing Kumar, senior advocate Birendra Saraf argued that the issue goes beyond personal injury and has a wider impact on public confidence. Saraf urged the court to protect digital identity rights, saying, “These acts cause serious damage to the goodwill and reputation of the plaintiffs, dilute their personality and publicity rights, mislead the public and amount to unfair competition and unjust enrichment.”
The petition highlights several examples of deepfake misuse – including a fabricated film trailer that showed Akshay as Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and another clip showing him making false comments about Rishi Valmiki, which led to a public backlash and forced the actor to issue a clarification. In one example, a platform named AkshayKumar.AI reportedly allowed users to generate synthetic audio mimicking his voice and style.
Saraf also highlighted concerns over counterfeit merchandise, cloned social media accounts and fake endorsements circulating under Kumar’s name on platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook, as well as on dark web listings.
The petition sought a John Doe injunction against both known and unknown entities, asking intermediaries, e-commerce platforms and domain registrars to identify the culprits and remove infringing content.
The court’s interim order is in line with the growing trend of Indian celebrities seeking protection from AI impersonation – the Bombay High Court has previously granted similar relief to Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Suniel Shetty, Karan Johar, Rishabh Shetty and Asha Bhosle, who faced blatant abuse of voice and image.
Also read: Akshay Kumar moves Bombay High Court to protect his personality rights amid AI deepfake threat
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