Bye-bye Bhidu! Jackie Shroff takes legal action against unauthorized use of his name, voice

Actor Jackie Shroff has approached the Delhi High Court to seek protection of his personality and publicity rights.

As reported by news agency PTI, the petition has been filed against several entities of the actor.

Jackie's counsel raised an objection to the "misuse" of his rights through the sale of ringtones, wallpapers, and merchandise. He also objected to "insulting" memes, GIFs and the use of artificial intelligence. He also alleged infringement of his trade mark rights on the Marathi word "bhidu (partner)".

The actor's counsel said people can't be allowed to mislead consumers into buying products thinking they are endorsed by Jackie. "Jackie Shroff is so well known. People will think it is endorsed by him. He has a certain marketability to his name. It can't be done without his consent," the counsel said, as quoted by PTI.

Jackie's counsel also told the court that merchandise of mugs, signed posters, and bags were being sold online in violation of the actor's rights. "All are using his name, images and earning huge money. This is all defamatory stuff...there are distasteful dirty words in voice-over. There is nothing legitimate about any of this," added the counsel.

The lawyer informed that certain defendants have now discontinued the unauthorised use of Jackie's personality traits. The counsel relied on orders passed by the high court in similar lawsuits by actors Amitabh Bachchan and Anil Kapoor. Following this, Justice Sanjeev Narula issued summons to the entities on the lawsuit. Justice Narula listed the matter for further consideration.

On the work front, fans will see Jackie in the spy espionage film Two Zero One Four alongside Akshay Oberoi. Directed by Shravan Tiwari, the film is slated to release this year. He also has the action thriller Baby John, directed by A Kaleeswaran, in the pipeline. The film will also star Varun Dhawan, Keerthy Suresh, Wamiqa Gabbi, and Rajpal Yadav in key roles.