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Filmmaker and producer Karan Johar on Monday approached the Delhi High Court, seeking protection of his personality and publicity rights. The plea came up for hearing before Justice Manmeet PS Arora, who sought certain clarifications from the counsel for Johar and listed the matter for 4 pm for further proceedings. Besides protection of his personality and publicity rights, Johar has also urged the court to pass an order directing certain websites and platforms not to illegally sell merchandise, including mugs and t-shirts, bearing his name and image. "I have a right to ensure that no one unauthorisedly uses my persona, face or voice," senior advocate Rajshekhar Rao, appearing for Johar, said. The right to publicity, popularly known as personality rights, is the right to protect, control and profit from one's image, name or likeness.
Veteran actor Sharmila Tagore has revealed that she was battling with cancer when filmmaker Karan Johar approached her to play a key role in his movie "Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani". The cinema icon and her son, actor Saif Ali Khan, appeared in the latest episode of Johar's celebrity chat show "Koffee with Karan". In the episode, which dropped on Disney+ Hotstar on Thursday, Johar said he wanted Tagore to play the role of Alia Bhatt's grandmother in the movie, which was released in August. "I had offered Sharmila ji the part played by Shabana (Azmi) ji in 'Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani'. She was my very first choice. Due to health reasons at that time, she couldn't say yes. but it is a regret I have, the filmmaker said. Tagore, 79, said she didn't want to take a risk during the pandemic as she was not vaccinated. "This is at the height of Covid. They hadn't really grappled with Covid at that time. They didn't know about the vaccine, we were not vaccinated. You know, (it was)