Deepfakes, drama & dignity: The personality rights story in India

Picture this: You’re scrolling through Instagram when a video pops up of Amitabh Bachchan promoting a sketchy cryptocurrency. Or a clip of a Bollywood actress that looks real but isn’t. Or Virat Kohli endorsing a product he’s never even heard of.

Welcome to the surreal world of stolen personas, where your voice, your face and even your signature quirks can be hijacked and sold without your nod. In India, where fame is practically a currency, this theft cuts deep. The law calls it personality rights, but for the people at the centre of it — actors, cricketers, influencers — it’s the right to be themselves in a world that can fake them at will.

Publicity vs privacy: A double-edged sword

At its heart, personality rights are two halves of the same coin. Publicity rights are about money. Shah Rukh Khan’s name has commercial weight. Dhoni’s “Thala” chant sells merchandise. Only they can decide how these are cashed in. If you plaster their faces on mugs or T-shirts without asking, you’re cashing a cheque that isn’t yours.

Privacy rights are about dignity. They protect individuals from being dragged into scandals, memes or intrusive narratives they never signed up for. After the Supreme Court declared privacy a fundamental right under Article 21, courts began extending that umbrella to cover misuse of one’s image or personal life.

In short, publicity rights protect fame and privacy rights protect peace. Together, they give legal teeth to the idea that your persona isn’t free real estate.

India’s courtroom mosaic

Here’s the twist: India doesn’t have a single law for personality rights. What we have is a patchwork quilt stitched together by judges.

In 2003, the Delhi High Court (ICC Development v. Arvee Enterprises) said you can’t ride on a celebrity’s popularity without consent.

In 2010, Punjabi pop star Daler Mehndi stopped a shop from selling dolls that looked and sang like him.

In 2022, Amitabh Bachchan secured sweeping protection over his voice, image and even his baritone. Anil Kapoor followed in 2023, banning misuse of his “Jhakaas” persona in deepfakes.

The message from the bench is consistent: your identity is yours, even if the public feels it belongs to them.

Why the debate is exploding now

For years, these cases were slow-burn battles between celebrities and rogue advertisers. But in today’s India, the issue is suddenly on fire.

Three reasons:

1. Bollywood + cricket = Crores: Two industries where faces are literal gold mines. A fake endorsement isn’t just unfair, it’s financial sabotage.

2. Social media virality: Memes, reels, fan edits — identities are remixed, shared and exploited at dizzying speed.

3. AI deepfakes: The real bomb. Free tools can now clone anyone’s voice or face with scary accuracy. What once took Hollywood-level tech is now a laptop trick.

India’s celebrities are realising their biggest threat isn’t paparazzi. It’s algorithms.

Deepfakes: The digital doppelganger

Let’s be blunt: deepfakes are identity theft on steroids.

Commercial misuse: Imagine a fake Ranveer Singh shouting “Baba-approved crypto!” in a deepfake ad. It deceives the public and drains his brand value.

Reputation ruin: Far uglier are pornographic or defamatory deepfakes, designed to humiliate and destroy reputations. Women celebrities bear the brunt, but no one is safe.

And unlike a fake poster on a wall, a deepfake spreads like wildfire across WhatsApp groups, Telegram channels and reels. Once out there, the damage is nearly impossible to undo.

Not just a celebrity problem

It’s easy to think this is only about stars and endorsements. But personality rights are quietly becoming everyone’s problem.

Think of a schoolteacher deepfaked into a compromising video. Or a doctor whose fake clip circulates claiming he endorsed a fake cure. Or a student whose morphed photos go viral. Careers, reputations, even lives can be ruined overnight.

What was once a celebrity shield may soon be an everyday citizen’s armour.

Constitution in the crosshairs

When it comes to protecting celebrity images, the legal foundation in India is surprisingly solid. Personality rights are rooted in Article 21 of the Constitution — the Right to Life and Personal Liberty. Courts have long read this article broadly, stretching it beyond just survival to include dignity, privacy and autonomy. The Puttaswamy judgment of 2017 made that crystal clear: privacy is not a luxury, it is a fundamental right.

These rights often rub against another big player in the Constitution — Article 19(1)(a), the Right to Free Speech. That creates a tug-of-war. Where’s the balance? Courts usually draw the line like this: If it’s about commerce — selling products, running ads, making money off someone’s face or voice — the celebrity’s right wins. If it’s about expression — satire, biographies, journalism — free speech usually takes priority.

But here’s the twist: deepfakes. A fake video of a public figure could be parody, could be commentary or could be outright theft of identity. The Constitution never foresaw AI-generated doubles speaking words they never said. Now judges have to decide: Is this art or is this abuse?

The Puttaswamy case told us that dignity and privacy are part of being human. But the digital age is pushing those principles into uncharted waters. When technology can clone your face and voice in seconds, the Constitution’s promise of protection suddenly feels like it’s on trial itself.

Can India keep up with the machines?

The elephant in the room: India’s laws are sprinting to catch up with AI.

Legislation needed: We need a clear statute defining digital likeness, setting penalties for misuse and creating liability for malicious deepfake creators.

Platform duty: Social media giants can’t shrug anymore. Courts and regulators are demanding detection tools and rapid takedowns.

Tech shields: Watermarks, blockchain verification and cryptographic signatures are being developed to flag authentic content.

Yet, the truth remains: technology will always be ahead of regulation. It’s not a fair fight.

The closing scene

India’s personality rights journey is still being written — in courtrooms, on film sets and increasingly, on servers and algorithms. What began as stars guarding their brand has morphed into something larger: the battle to protect dignity itself in a digital bazaar that trades in faces and voices like currency.

Deepfakes may be machines of illusion, but the consequences are painfully real. The law has drawn its sword. The question is whether it can keep up with a technology that never blinks.