Delhi HC restrains misuse of actor Anil Kapoor’s name, image, voice

Delhi High Court has restrained the misuse of Anil Kapoor’s name, image, voice and other attributes of persona, including the ‘jhakaas’ catchphrase, for commercial gain.

Justice Prathiba M Singh passed the ex-parte interim order against several websites and platforms on a lawsuit filed by the actor, alleging unauthorised exploitation of his personality and celebrity rights for commercial use.

Justice Prathiba M Singh said, ‘Using the plaintiff's name, voice, dialogue, and image in an illegal manner, that too for commercial purposes, cannot be permitted. The court cannot turn a blind eye to such misuse of personality.’

The court’s order stated, ‘Defendants 1 to 16 are restrained from using ... in any manner the plaintiff Anil Kapoor's name, likeness, voice or any other attributes of his personality ... for monetary gain or otherwise.’

The court said ‘fame for a person comes with disadvantages’ and ‘this case shows that reputation and fame can transcend into damage’.

‘Such misuse can damage a celebrity's right to endorsement’, it added.

Anil Kapoor was seen in the movie ‘Jugjugg Jeeyo’ alongside Kiara Advani and Varun Dhawan. He is now prepping for his next venture ‘Fighter’, which will be released next year. The movie will mark Anil Kapoor and Hrithik Roshan’s first on-screen collaboration.