Actor Akshay Kumar has approached the Bombay High Court seeking urgent protection of his personality rights amid rampant misuse through deepfake videos, AI-generated content, and counterfeit endorsements. He alleged that unidentified entities were illegally commercialising his persona by cloning his voice, creating obscene blogs, and circulating manipulated media across social media platforms. 

Justice Arif Doctor heard the matter on Wednesday (October 15, 2025) and reserved the order after submissions. 

Senior advocate Birendra Saraf, appearing for Mr. Kumar, argued that the scale and speed of these infringements had made it “impossible for the Plaintiff to track each instance or identify each infringer contemporaneously.”  

He submitted to the court, “This content has very serious consequences. It is not only a threat to him and his family but to the public at large. The fabricated clips attributed to a public figure of Akshay Kumar’s influence, could lead to immediate public reactions before any clarification could be issued.” 

Mr. Saraf cited several examples of impersonation. One was a viral trailer falsely showing Mr. Kumar as Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in a film he never featured in. The clip drew nearly 20 lakh views before being taken down after protests.  

Another manipulated video depicted Mr. Kumar making remarks about Rishi Valmiki, which led to demonstrations in multiple regions. 

He also pointed to AI-driven platforms that clone Mr. Kumar’s voice and image. One website even offers an “AI Akshay Kumar V2 Voice” tool that can generate speech in his tone and style from any text input. In addition, Mr. Saraf highlighted obscene blogs, fake endorsements, and social media accounts misusing Kumar’s photographs, along with digital stickers and merchandise sold under his name. 

Some of this material, he noted, appears to originate from the dark web, making it extremely difficult to trace those responsible. 

The actor’s petition seeks a permanent and mandatory John Doe (court order issued against unknown individuals) injunction against unknown persons, social media platforms, and websites to restrain unauthorised exploitation of his name, screen name “Akshay Kumar,” image, likeness, voice, distinctive performance style, and other identifiable attributes.