Listen to Story In May this year, actor Jackie Shroff filed a petition in the Delhi High Court seeking protection for his name, likeness, and nickname 'Bhidu' from unauthorised use, and the court ruled in his favour. While it is illegal to impersonate him, actor-comedian Krushna Abhishek revealed to IndiaToday.in that he is the only one not bound by this law.
Krushna shared how Jackie Shroff loves his impersonation and even called him personally to inform him that the legality wouldn’t apply to him. The comedian also shared that not only does senior Shroff enjoy watching him play the iconic 'Jaggu Dada' on shows and skits, but his son Tiger Shroff does as well. Krushna added that the 'Bade Miyan Chote Miyan' actor recently called him to express how much the family enjoys watching him in Jackie Shroff's avatar.
"I am also a part of Welcome To The Jungle, where dada (Jackie Shroff) is playing the villain. We had such a good time on the set. During breaks, he would even ask me to show him videos of my performance as him.
He really enjoys it," Krushna shared. For those unversed, the veteran actor sought the protection of the names Jackie Shroff, Jackie, Jaggu Dada, as well as Bhidu, and said that his attributes cannot be used without his authorisation on any platform. He also requested that the Department of Technology and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) be instructed to remove all links and websites that unlawfully violate his personality rights.
After the Delhi HC ruled in his favour, Jackie Shroff shared a media statement that read, “I am immensely grateful to the judiciary for passing an order that safeguards my personality rights, including my name, image, likeness, voice, and other unique attributes. For a long time, celebrities had little to no recourse against the misuse of their persona. However, I am heartened by the fact that courts have progressively recognized and protected these rights, as demonstrated in landmark cases involving Mr.
Amitabh Bachchan and Mr. Anil Kapoor. These precedents have been very encouraging and motivated me to assert my rights.
” Adding why it is important to safeguard actors’ privacy and attributes, he said, “In today’s rapidly evolving technological landscape, particularly with the advent of digital media, it is crucial to control any unauthorised use and misuse of celebrity attributes. Celebrities wield significant influence, and such abuse can mislead the public regarding a celebrity's association with certain goods or services. The misuse of celebrity personas not only dilutes our brand equity but also misguides the public at large.
” Last year, Anil Kapoor also approached the court to protect his personality rights. The actor won the case in January this year. As a result of the victory, his name, voice, image, likeness, manner of speaking, gestures, and even the catchphrase 'jhakaas' are now protected.
Earlier, in 2022, the HC passed an interim order to prevent the unlawful use of Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan's name, image, and voice. The court, through its order, restrained persons at large from infringing the personality rights of the actor. Personality rights, also referred to as the right of publicity, are the rights for an individual to control the commercial use of their identity, such as name and image.
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