Updated on: Sept 09, 2025 05:51 pm IST
Aishwarya Rai’s stance on the matter is in line with legal action previously taken by the likes of Amitabh Bachchan, Jackie Shroff and Anil Kapoor to name a few
Even before the wake of AI, public figures have always been under the threat of their image, person and likeness being used without consent, or worse, misused. Now that we are living through AI’s era of acceleration, the tone of the threat in question takes on a severely sinister context.
Keeping in mind the same, Aishwarya Rai has approached the Delhi High Court to safeguard her personality rights, to address her primary concern of her image and persona being replicated for multiple commercial and nefarious purposes, sans her consent.
Represented by her legal counsel, senior advocate Sandeep Sethi, the matter of Aishwarya’s images and persona being used on merchandise up for sale and even morphed pornographic images was brought to light. Presenting YouTube screenshots for proof, Sethi said, “These are never images belonging to Aishwarya Rai. Neither she has authorised such images. All AI generated. Some intimate photographs which are completely unreal. Her name and likeness is used to satisfy someone’s sexual desires. Very unfortunate”. The court, presided over by Justice Tejas Kataria, implied its intent to issue injunctions with 151 URLs being targeted for a takedown.
Now while this seems to be a situation afflicting only public figures and celebrities, in an age where one’s likeness can be exploited in a matter of seconds, it’s important to understand the crux of the argument. So what really are personality rights?
An explainer on the Lakshmikumaran Sridharan Attorneys website asserts, “The word ‘celebrity’ is perceived by a large chunk of population as an honour and a reward for success. Sportspersons and artists earn it by skill, businessman and TV personalities earn it by wit, politicians earn it by votes and for some it is spontaneous like in the case of princes and princesses, who acquire it by birth or by marriage. Certain others may acquire it by their chance involvement in newsworthy events.
Pertinently, there are two discernible facets when a celebrity wants to protect their personality rights: first, the right to protect one’s image from being commercially exploited without permission by treating it as a tort of passing off; mainly termed as publicity rights which comes under the ambit of IP Law and second, the right to privacy which entails one’s right to be left alone”.
Further proceedings of the case are scheduled for January 15, 2026.
