Delhi High Court halts AI film over unauthorised use of Pawan Kalyan’s son Akira Nandan’s identity

The Delhi High Court has passed an ex parte ad interim injunction restraining the broadcast of an AI-generated film that exploited the name, image, likeness, voice and persona of Akira Nandan, son of Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister and actor Pawan Kalyan, without his consent [Akira Nandan Vs Sambawaami Studios]..Justice Tushar Rao Gedela passed the order in January 23.The order restrains Sambhawaami Studios LLP and other unidentified infringers from creating, publishing or sharing AI-generated or deepfake content using Akira Nandan’s identity, including a film titled “AI Love Story”, hosted on YouTube and other digital platforms..Akira Nandan, aged 21, approached the High Court alleging large-scale violation of his personality, publicity and privacy rights through the unauthorised creation of a full-length film created using Artificial Intelligence (AI), which portrayed him as the lead character. The Court was told that the film used advanced AI morphing and deepfake technology to replicate Nandan's facial features, voice and persona with high precision, thereby falsely projecting his participation and consent.The Court recorded that the AI-generated film titled “AI Love Story” had been uploaded on YouTube in multiple versions, with the Telugu-language version attracting 1,109,255 views and the English-language version recording 24,354 views as of January 22, 2026, indicating rapid and wide online dissemination of the allegedly infringing content..Beyond the AI film itself, the suit detailed a large number of impersonation accounts, fake profiles and monetised social-media pages across YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X, which were allegedly using Akira Nandan’s name, photographs and likeness to gain views, followers and monetary benefits. Nandan alleged that some of these accounts were soliciting donations in his name, raising concerns of deception and financial misuse of the public.The Court examined multiple AI-generated visuals annexed to the plaint and observed that the material demonstrated how artificial intelligence could be deployed to fabricate realistic but false narratives involving identifiable individuals..Relying on the Delhi High Court’s seminal decision in DM Entertainment Pvt Ltd v. Baby Gift House, the Court reiterated that Indian law recognises the right to publicity as protecting an individual’s autonomy over the commercial exploitation of their persona. The Court noted that no person is entitled to trade upon another’s name, image or appearance for commercial gain without authorisation.Justice Gedela observed that although Akira Nandan was at an early stage of his public career, the very act of creating an AI-generated film portraying him as a lead character was itself indicative of his distinctive identity and recognisable persona.."Upon overall appreciation of the facts of the case, prima facie, it appears that the plaintiff is a prominent personality belonging to a highly reputed family in the entertainment industry in the State of Andhra Pradesh. The plaintiff, though young, appears to have a large fan following which indicates his popularity in the public as also in the entertainment industry. Having regard to the fact that he appeared in a movie and also claims to have contributed to music in the Telugu Film “OG”, it can be presumed at this stage that he has a noticeable presence in the entertainment industry, though at infancy," it added..At the interim stage, the Court concluded that the balance of convenience lay in Nandan's favour, and that any injury caused to personality and reputation could neither be adequately compensated in monetary terms nor easily reversed if interim relief were denied..The High Court proceeded to restrain the defendants from:creating, publishing or disseminating the AI-generated film “AI Love Story” or any content related thereto; using or exploiting Akira Nandan’s name, image, likeness, voice, mannerisms or persona through artificial intelligence, deepfake or similar technologies; violating his right to privacy by generating distorted or manipulated content prejudicial to his reputation..The Court also directed social-media intermediaries, including Meta Platforms, to ensure takedown of the infringing URLs identified in the suit and to disclose relevant account and IP details of the infringers within the timelines specified.Akira Nandan was represented by Senior Advocate J Sai Deepak, with Advocates Himanshu Deora, Rahul Mehta, Arpit Choudhary, Kunal Mehta, Anupriya Alok and Sanat Saswadkar from King Stubb & Kasiva. .Google was represented by Advocates Aditya Gupta and Vani Kaushik..Meta was represented by Advocates Varun Pathak, Yash Karunakaran and Prasidhi Agrawal..[Read Order].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.