The Delhi High Court has provided considerable relief to actor Akkineni Nagarjuna by issuing a restraint order to stop the unauthorised commercial exploitation of his name, voice, image, and likeness. The court ordered websites and online platforms mentioned in the petition to delete all offending content within 72 hours.
Justice Tejas Karia, who heard the case, made a point that protecting celebrity personality rights is necessary, saying, “Misuse of one’s personality rights not only hurts economic interests but also infringes upon their right to live with dignity. Nagarjuna is one of the biggest superstars in the country.”. If his name, look-alike or voice is utilized for commercial purpose, it may mislead many people.” The court also directed the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to see to the blocking of certain URLs within the same timeframe.
The lawsuit was filed on September 25 by Nagarjuna, amidst rising concern within the entertainment world regarding the exploitation of celebrity names for business purposes. Advocate Pravin Anand, who is the actor’s representative, pointed out his long career in Indian film. “Nagarjuna has worked in 95 films and has won two National Awards, nine Nandi Awards, and three Filmfare Awards. He is better known as the ‘celluloid scientist’ due to his versatility as an actor,” Anand said.
After the court’s decision, Nagarjuna thanked on X (previously Twitter) the legal team, which was headed by Senior Counsel Vaibhav Gaggar and Advocate Pravin Anand, for their assistance.
Nagarjuna is now a part of a list of celebrities such as Amitabh Bachchan, Karan Johar, and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan who went to court to safeguard their personality rights.
On the professional front, Nagarjuna was spotted this year in Kuberaa and Coolie, the latter doing decently well. He is currently gearing up to direct his milestone 100th film, King 100, coming in May 2026.
