September 11, 2025
ISLAMABAD – Indian actor Aishwarya Rai has moved the Delhi High Court, seeking protection against the misuse of her name, image and likeness in AI-generated content that depicts her in sexually explicit ways, reported the Hindustan Times.
The court, while hearing her plea on Tuesday, hinted at issuing an interim order restraining platforms and individuals from using her identity without consent. It also said that further directions would be issued to take down links and content infringing on her rights.
The actor said she has been the victim of morphed, “unreal intimate photographs” that are being circulated online. “Her name and image are being used to satisfy someone’s sexual desires. This is very unfortunate,” her lawyer told the court.
The plea argues that multiple websites and platforms are illegally profiting off Rai’s likeness. Among the defendants named are websites such as aishwaryaworld.com, apkpure.com and bollywoodteeshop.com, e-commerce platform Etsy, organisations like Aishwarya Nation Wealth Motivational Speaker, AI-powered chatbots, YouTube channels including NewNWSTamil and Bollywood_CinemaTV07, and even tech giant Google.
Indian government bodies such as the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the Department of Telecommunications have also been arrayed as parties to the case.
The plea underlines that the use of deepfake technology to create and spread “distasteful” images is not just a violation of her publicity rights, popularly known as personality rights, but also an affront to her dignity.
Rai has asked the court to safeguard her name, voice, image, and signature style of dialogue delivery from misuse, especially in what she described as “unwholesome and unsavoury” ways.
The matter has now been posted before the court’s joint registrar on November 7, with further proceedings scheduled for January 15.
Rai isn’t the first Bollywood star to go to court over the misuse of her image. In recent years, actors including Jackie Shroff and Anil Kapoor have also approached courts to protect their personality rights against unauthorised commercial exploitation and misuse.