Akshay Kumar has moved the Bombay High Court seeking protection of his personality rights, alleging extensive misuse of his name, image, and voice through manipulated and AI-generated media. The case, titled Akshay Hari Om Bhatia vs Ashok Kumar, has been reserved for judgment by Justice Arif Doctor after an elaborate hearing.
As per media reports, Kumar’s counsel, Senior Advocate Birendra Saraf, has argued that the widespread circulation of deepfake videos, fake endorsements, and fabricated blogs has caused significant reputational harm and poses a risk to public order. He has stated that manipulated content portraying Kumar in false contexts has led to protests and misinformation, including a video falsely showing him as playing Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in a film and another deepfake clip linked to remarks about Rishi Valmiki.
Saraf has further highlighted the emergence of AI platforms cloning Kumar’s voice and likeness, including a site featuring an “AI Akshay Kumar V2 Voice” that can generate speech mimicking his tone and style. Several fake social media accounts, obscene blogs, and digital merchandise using his image have also been cited in the plea.
He has sought injunctions restraining both identified and unidentified defendants from circulating or hosting infringing material, along with directions to intermediaries and domain registrars to remove such content or disclose the identities of the creators. Saraf has clarified that Kumar is not seeking to block entire websites, but only specific pages or links that host objectionable material.
The Court has taken the submissions on record and permitted Saraf to file a revised note clarifying that the actor, whose full name is Akshay Hari Om Bhatia, is widely known by his screen name, while also incorporating undertakings submitted in the interim application.
Saraf has been briefed by advocates Janay Jain, Monisha Mane Bhangale, Bijal Vora, and Chandragupta Patil from Parinam Law Associates.
