India does not have a codified law that recognises or regulates personality rights, particularly concerning artificial intelligence (AI). In 2025 alone, several Indian celebrities have moved court to protect their personality rights including Salman Khan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Jr. NTR among others. The cases are over the personalities' right to control the commercial as well as the reputational use of aspects of their identity.

This comes as India, one of the most socially engaged digital populations in the world, continued to be increasingly exposed to deceptive content. Shah Rukh Khan tops the recent McAfee list as the most exploited celebrity in deepfake scams, followed by Alia Bhatt and Elon Musk. Their names and likenesses, Indians report, were most frequently seen used in AI-driven deepfakes to promote fake endorsements, phishing links, or malicious downloads.

In this episode, we explore the aspect of evolving personality rights, and the need for a comprehensive, legal  framework in an era where AI can recreate anyone, anywhere, saying anything.

Guest: Madhavi Ravikumar, Assistant Professor, Department of Communication, University of Hyderabad.

Host: Vibha B Madhava

Edited by Jude Weston

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