Suniel Shetty moves HC over misuse of image, deepfake videos

Owing to his long-standing public presence, Shetty said his distinctive voice, tone, signature, performance style, and mannerisms have acquired substantial commercial value. The misuse of any of these attributes, he added, could mislead the public into believing there was some affiliation, sponsorship, or endorsement by him

MUMBAI: Bollywood actor Suniel Shetty has approached the Bombay High Court seeking protection of his personality rights, alleging that social media platforms and websites are misusing his name, image, and likeness through deepfake content.

Suniel Shetty moves HC over misuse of image, deepfake videos

A single-judge bench of justice Arif S Doctor observed that what people can do with unregulated artificial intelligence (AI) and social media is “scary,” while reserving the actor’s plea for interim relief.

Shetty moved the court on October 6 through advocates Janay Jain, Monisha Bhangale, Bijal Vora, and Tamanna Meghrajani of Parinam Law Associates, seeking an injunction against social media platforms, websites, and “John Doe” entities for the “extensive and ongoing” misuse and unauthorised commercial exploitation of his persona—including his image, voice, likeness, and performance style.

The actor said such unauthorised use was causing irreparable harm to the goodwill and reputation he had built over the years. Owing to his long-standing public presence, Shetty said his distinctive voice, tone, signature, performance style, and mannerisms have acquired substantial commercial value. The misuse of any of these attributes, he added, could mislead the public into believing there was some affiliation, sponsorship, or endorsement by him.

Shetty cited an instance of an AI-generated image showing him in an indecent setting with a well-known actress. Being a married man, he said such content was “grossly prejudicial” to his reputation and a blatant violation of his personality rights.

“The cause of action is of a continuing nature,” the petition stated, adding that the circulation of such AI-generated content not only harms his goodwill but also violates the privacy of his family.

He also referred to a deepfake video circulating online that falsely depicts him, his daughter Athiya Shetty, and son-in-law, cricketer KL Rahul, holding an infant. Although the birth of his grandchild is a matter of public record, Shetty argued that the manipulated images were a serious intrusion into his privacy and dignity.

Another website, he said, falsely claimed to have collaborated with him for an online gambling and sports betting platform, suggesting the creation of “new experiences” blending film entertainment and digital gaming.

Senior advocate Birendra Saraf, representing Shetty, told the court that the actor’s photographs and deepfake videos were being circulated for profit. “Real estate and astrology websites are using his image, and a gambling site has also featured him. None of this is with his consent. Meta merely labelled the content as deepfake but did not take it down,” Saraf said.