Actor Shatrughan Sinha Moves Bombay High Court To Protect 'Personality Rights' And Iconic Dialogue 'Khamosh'

The commercial suit, heard by a single-judge bench of Justice Sharmila Deshmukh, alleges the unauthorised use of Sinha's name, image, likeness, and his signature catchphrase, "Khamosh!"

The court has reserved the matter for ad-interim orders on Monday. 

The suit, filed through Sinha's son and Power of Attorney holder, Luv Sinha, describes an "illustrious and influential" career in Indian cinema spanning over four decades, alongside over two decades in national and regional politics. The plea states that Sinha has developed a "commanding screen presence" and a "unique on-screen persona" that earned him the name 'Shotgun'.

The actor asserts exclusive control over several "valuable and protectable facets" of his personality, including:

• His voice, vocal style, and mannerisms.

• His image, photograph, caricature, and signature.

• The expression "Khamosh!", which the plea states became inseparably associated with him following the 1976 film Kalicharan.

It was further alleged that various defendants are engaged in the unauthorized commercial exploitation and misappropriation of his identity. According to the plea, these infringing activities include the creation and dissemination of deepfakes, morphed videos, and Al-generated illustrations that falsely attribute statements or actions to him.

The dissemination of highly objectionable and pornographic content created using AI or face-morphing technology featuring the actor's likeness is challenged.

The creation of GIFs, memes, and digital stickers by "distorting, mutilating and / or making other modifications" to video recordings of his performances. Sinha contends these portrayals bring him disrepute and make him the subject of "unsavoury humour".

The suit further targets the unauthorized sale of merchandise, including photographs, posters, magnets, and clothing bearing Sinha's likeness. In the plea, it is urged that such acts constitute the tort of passing off, misleading the public into believing that the actor has endorsed or is associated with these products. Sinha asserts that this unlicensed exploitation causes "irreparable harm" to his goodwill and commercial value.

Sinha frames the protection of his personality rights under the Right to Privacy and Personal Dignity guaranteed by Articles 19(1)(a) and 21 of the Constitution. He further claims moral rights in his performances under Section 38-B of the Copyright Act, 1957.

The veteran actor has named several global and local entities as defendants, including Meta, X (formerly Twitter), Google, Amazon, and Pinterest. He also seeks John Doe orders against unknown parties to restrain further violations.

The reliefs sought from the court include:

• A permanent injunction restraining the defendants from using his name, voice, signature, or any other attributes of his personality for commercial or personal gain.

• Directions to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to remove or block infringing links and websites.

• Damages conservatively assessed at Rs. 20 Crore.

For Plaintff: Advocate Hiren Kamod along with Advocates Nidhi Singh, Abha Shah and Amisha Upadhyay instructed INDIALAW LLP.