Actor Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao Junior, popularly known as NTR Junior. File | Photo Credit: Nagara Gopal
Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora, while hearing a plea filed by the actor, passed an interim order restraining various defendants — including unidentified entities and websites — from exploiting the actor’s personality traits using artificial intelligence and deepfake technology until the next date of hearing.
In the order passed on Monday (December 22, 2025), the Court said, “Plaintiff [NTR Junior] is a known and recognised actor whose name, image, and likeness have acquired goodwill through decades of professional achievement and brand endorsements. His reputation as a popular and well-recognized actor, who is a recipient of multiple prestigious awards.”
“Plaintiff has millions of followers across social media platforms. It is stated that Plaintiff has several brand endorsement agreements and is a sought-after brand ambassador by several entities. These facts holistically establish the public association uniquely tied to his identities and his reputation amongst the public not limited to his fans,” the Court said.
“The plaintiff is entitled to seek injunction against the use of his personality rights by third parties for selling merchandise for their commercial gains, without his authorisation,” the Court noted, adding that the continuing availability of the infringing merchandise would cause irreparable injury to the actor.
Recently, Bollywood actors Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, her husband Abhishek Bachchan and her mother-in-law Jaya Bachchan, Hrithik Roshan, Ajay Devgn and R Madhavan, filmmaker Karan Johar, singer Kumar Sanu, Telugu actor Akkineni Nagarjuna, Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, journalist Sudhir Chaudhary and podcaster Raj Shamani also approached the High Court seeking protection of their personality and publicity rights. The Court granted them interim relief.
Published – December 30, 2025 10:10 pm IST
