Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor has made it to TIME Magazine’s prestigious second annual TIME 100 AI list, which celebrates the 100 most influential figures in the realm of artificial intelligence.
Kapoor was added to the list following his notable victory in September 2023, when the Delhi High Court granted an interim injunction prohibiting 16 entities from engaging in the unauthorized commercial exploitation of the actor's likeness, voice, image, or other distinctive characteristics.
The actor was prompted to take action due to the rampant circulation of morphed videos and emojis featuring his image and iconic phrase “jhakaas,” which gained popularity after his 1985 film Yudh. “Every actor has the right to protect themselves,” Kapoor told Variety.
The court ruled in his favor by restraining the 16 defendants from using, in any manner, “Anil Kapoor’s name, likeness, image, voice or any other aspect of his persona to create any merchandise, ringtones … either for monetary gain or otherwise.”
Bollywood is one of the world’s largest film industries, rolling out more than 1,500 movies every year. Kapoor’s ruling came at a time when the industry was grappling with how to regulate the misuse of AI.
Last year, uncanny deepfake videos of popular female Indian actors including Alia Bhatt and Rashmika Mandanna went viral, while AI-generated videos of Indian actors Aamir Khan and Ranveer Singh alarmed the country during this year’s Indian election, where they appeared to criticize Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Kapoor’s victory has also paved the way for others to seek protection over their personality rights. In July this year, the Bombay High Court granted interim relief to popular Indian singer, Arijit Singh, noting that using his voice without permission was a legal violation.
‘The case was heard after unauthorized AI platforms mimicked Singh’s name and likeness without consent, with one platform even using text-to-speech software to convert text into his voice,’ said TIME Magazine journalist, Astha Rajvanshi.
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