HC stalls release of film for violating Karan Johar's personality rights

The Bombay high court on Friday refused to allow the release of the film Shaadi Ke Director Karan Aur Johar, observing that the title and content of the film violated filmmaker and producer Karan Johar's privacy and personality rights, and infringed his brand value.

- Karuna Nidhi

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Friday refused to allow the release of the film Shaadi Ke Director Karan Aur Johar, observing that the title and content of the film violated filmmaker and producer Karan Johar's privacy and personality rights, and infringed his brand value.

A single-judge bench of justice RI Chagla said that releasing a movie with such a title would inevitably result in people directly associating it with Johar.

Johar had approached the high court in June 2024, seeking to restrain the film's producers, Indiapride Advisory Pvt Ltd, from releasing it, stating that the title violated his personality, publicity and privacy rights. He argued that "unless his consent is taken for using his personal attributes, such as his name and profession, there is a violation of such rights".