Shatrughan Sinha moves Bombay HC to protect personality rights, seeks bar on use of iconic ‘Khamosh’

Veteran actor and politician Shatrughan Sinha has approached the Bombay High Court seeking protection of his personality rights, including his iconic dialogue “Khamosh” (silence).

A bench of Justice Sharmila Deshmukh on Monday heard Sinha’s plea and reserved its order on the interim relief sought by the 79-year-old actor against certain websites and social media platforms. The plea seeks to restrain them from the unauthorised use of his name, image, persona, mannerisms and signature punchline.

Seeks injunction against misuse of persona

According to PTI, Sinha has sought an interim injunction directing such websites to immediately stop using his name, likeness and overall persona without consent.

In his petition, the former Union minister argued that the alleged misuse amounts to a violation of his fundamental rights. He has also sought a permanent injunction to prevent any commercial exploitation of his name, voice, mannerisms, catchphrase “Khamosh” and overall personality.

The plea states that over several decades, Sinha has built substantial goodwill and commercial value around his public persona, and any unauthorised use is causing grave damage to his reputation and brand equity.

Celebrities who secured court-backed personality rights

Sinha joins a growing list of celebrities who have moved courts to safeguard their personality rights:

Amitabh Bachchan: Secured sweeping protection over his name, voice and likeness following instances of misuse.

Anil Kapoor: Obtained protection for his name, image, voice and the catchphrase “Jhakaas.”

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan: Secured orders against AI-generated misuse, unauthorised merchandise and deepfakes.

Akshay Kumar: Received protection from the Bombay High Court against AI-generated deepfakes.

Salman Khan: Initiated legal steps to curb unauthorised use of his personality.

Hrithik Roshan: Pursuing legal action against unauthorised and AI-generated content.

Jackie Shroff: Secured rights to protect his image and catchphrases.

Karan Johar: Moved court to prevent unauthorised use of his persona and name.

Suniel Shetty: Approached the Bombay High Court over commercial misuse of his image.

Vivek Oberoi: Won protection against violation of his personality rights in the Delhi High Court.

Kumar Sanu: Sought protection for his voice and singing style against AI misuse.

Daler Mehndi: Secured protection against unauthorised dolls manufactured in his likeness.

Nagarjuna: Granted interim injunction by the Delhi High Court to protect his image and voice.

Asha Bhosle: Obtained protection from the Bombay High Court regarding her voice.

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