Actor Shruti Haasan has approached the Bombay High Court seeking protection against the unauthorised use of her image and likeness through AI-generated content, including deepfakes and manipulated videos. The court has granted her interim relief in the matter and directed the removal of content flagged by her.
Justice Madhav Jamdar observed that the continued circulation of AI-generated deepfakes, manipulated images, chatbots and other allegedly infringing material could cause “irreparable injury” to Haasan’s reputation, goodwill and commercial interests.
The court noted that deepfake content can be replicated and circulated widely once it appears online, making the potential damage difficult to address through monetary compensation alone. It also observed that morphed, deepfake and superimposed images and videos can affect an individual’s personality, publicity and moral rights.
Haasan’s legal action covers several forms of alleged unauthorised use, including AI-generated deepfakes, manipulated videos, commercial endorsements and merchandise featuring her image or likeness without permission.
The court further observed that personality, publicity and privacy rights have constitutional protection under Articles 19(1)(a) and 21 of the Constitution of India. Based on the material before it, the court found a “very strong prima facie case” in Haasan’s favour.
The actor had filed the suit against multiple entities involved in the alleged creation, hosting and distribution of the disputed content. According to the details of the proceedings, some defendants did not appear or file their defence despite being given time, following which the court issued an ad-interim injunction against them.
Meanwhile, lawyers representing some defendants told the court that content hosted on their platforms would be removed after receiving clear and legible URLs from Haasan’s legal team.
Haasan was represented by advocates Rashmin Khandekar, Ameet Naik, Madhu Gadodia, Aman Saraf, Malabika and Unnati Gambani of Anand & Naik.
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