Amitabh Bachchan

Amitabh Bachchan (born 1942) is arguably the most towering figure in Indian cinema — the “angry young man” of 1970s Hindi film, star of Sholay and Deewaar, and longtime host of the quiz show Kaun Banega Crorepati. His face and baritone voice are among the most recognized in the world.

The injunction that started India’s personality-rights wave

In November 2022, Bachchan sued in the Delhi High Court after scammers used his image and KBC branding to run fake lottery schemes, and vendors hawked unauthorized merchandise trading on his persona. On November 25, 2022, Justice Navin Chawla granted an ad-interim ex-parte omnibus injunction restraining the world at large from misusing his name — “Amitabh Bachchan,” “Big B,” “AB” — as well as his voice, image, or any uniquely identifiable attribute for commercial or personal gain, and ordered ministries and telecom providers to block infringing URLs and phone numbers. The order became the foundational precedent Indian courts cited as AI deepfakes exploded, paving the way for similar protection won by Anil Kapoor in 2023.

Speaking out on deepfakes

In November 2023, when an AI face-swap video of actor Rashmika Mandanna went viral, Bachchan was among the first major voices to react, posting that it was “a strong case for legal” action — a call credited with amplifying national attention that led to Indian government advisories requiring platforms to remove deepfakes within 36 hours. Mandanna publicly thanked him “for standing up” for her.