Delhi HC restrains use of Anil Kapoor's name, image, signature catchphrase

If you plan to use Anil Kapoor’s catchphrase “jhakaas” to mint money, brace for a legal “yudh” with the actor. The Delhi High Court on Wednesday restrained the misuse of his name, image, voice and other attributes of his persona for commercial gain.

Justice Pratibha Singh also barred the use of artificial intelligence tools (AI) to morph the actor’s image or use it for GIFs for monetary gains, saying that such action violates his rights.

Advocate Pravin Anand, appearing for Kapoor, also sought to protect the use of the signature catchphrase “jhakaas”, which he says was first uttered by the actor in the movie Yudh (1985). The expression, which loosely translates to “awesome”, has caught on over the years with Kapoor reprising it publicly many times. Anand told the court that Kapoor’s unique delivery of “the said word/expression/dialogue” has become a signature of him, gaining him so much popularity that people instantly associate him with it.

However, the court was not convinced by the argument, saying that “jhakaas” is “Bambaiyya Hindi and if that is the case, it cannot be protected”.

“It’s about how he says it, in a twisted way,” Anand argued.

The court replied that if that was the case, other actors or celebrities were liable to approach the judiciary seeking protection of their own catchphrases. “If we do it for one actor, then other actors, actresses and celebrities will also be entitled,” Justice Singh said.

“Depends if they are being shamed, used for porn, then yes, they will be entitled,” Anand said.

Anand also sought to restrain the use of the actor’s initials, AK, his nicknames such as Lakhan, Mr India, Majnu Bhai and Nayak, without his consent.

The court said that while free speech is protected in the form of satire, write-ups, news articles and parody, it cannot be used to tarnish the personality of an individual.

It added that there is no justification for unauthorised websites or platforms to make people believe that they are getting Kapoor to be a “motivational speaker”.

“The celebrity’s right to endorsement could be a major source of livelihood, which cannot be allowed to be destroyed by permitting illegal merchandise,” it said.

In 2022, actor Amitabh Bachchan filed a suit seeking protection of his personality rights on the grounds that his name, voice and images were being misused by third parties. The suit was filed against the named defendants as well as an unknown “John Doe”. The Delhi High Court granted an ex-parte, ad-interim order protecting the plaintiff’s personality rights, effectively restraining others from misusing Bachchan’s personality and publicity rights.

Kapoor decided to approach the court in July after seeing YouTube short videos featuring AI generated “deepfake” videos which superimposed his face on other actors and actresses.

When Kapoor’s team searched the Internet they found instances of third-party misappropriation of his personality.

Kapoor revealed to the court that his personality/publicity rights were being violated through websites and mobile applications; sale of merchandise; unscrupulous use of technology; AI and generative AI; and impersonation and cybersquatting.

The Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology was also asked to issue blocking orders against pornographic videos that used morphed images of the actor.

“It is emphasised that it is of grave concern to the plaintiff (Kapoor) that in the context of personality/publicity rights, tools such as generative artificial intelligence are being used by individuals, at the prejudice and cost of the plaintiff’s hard-earned goodwill and reputation,” Kapoor submitted to the court.

While Kapoor’s “jhakaas” rights are protected, one wonders whether his “dhina dhin dha” from a song in Ram Lakhan (1989) would also qualify for personality rights.

Safir Anand, joint managing partner, Anand & Naik, said that the importance of protecting celebrity rights or the rights associated with a celebrity owing to their status has been growing in India. “This order in favour of Anil Kapoor is a welcome move in recognising and controlling unlawful exploitation of the uniqueness and persona developed and loved by fans of the celebrities the world over.”

On a Role

·         Anil Kapoor debuted as an actor with the film Hamare Tumhare in 1979

·         His role in Yudh (1985) gave birth to the iconic ‘jhakaas’ expression

·         The actor has so far starred in more than 100 films, besides television shows and lending his voice in some projects

·         He will next be seen in his home production’s Thank You for Coming this year