The Bombay Excessive Courtroom has dominated in favor of filmmaker Karan Johar and blocked the discharge of the movie Shaadi Ke Director Karan Aur Johar, stating that the unauthorized use of his identify violates his persona rights and will harm his popularity, as per a report by Dwell Regulation.
The court docket’s order, issued on Might 7, 2025, upholds an earlier determination from March 7, 2025, which had positioned a short lived keep on the movie’s launch. Karan Johar had filed a authorized criticism claiming he had no involvement with the undertaking and had not given the filmmakers permission to make use of his identify.
The movie’s title options two characters named “Karan” and “Johar,” who’re portrayed as Bollywood administrators, mirroring Johar’s real-life id. This raised severe issues concerning the filmmakers making an attempt to falsely affiliate the movie with him.
A division bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Makarand Karnik agreed that the film appeared to use Johar’s id and public picture for promotional functions and business achieve, with out his consent.
In an earlier listening to, Justice Riyaz Chagla had additionally noticed that the movie’s title and the portrayal of the characters appeared like a deliberate try and hyperlink the film with Karan Johar. He referred to as it a transparent case of leveraging a celeb’s identify to draw consideration.
Johar’s authorized workforce argued that his identify carries important weight within the Indian movie business and is well known as a model. They claimed that the filmmakers have been unfairly attempting to profit from that model with out authorization, which was each misleading and unlawful.
Additionally they identified that trailers and posters for the movie had already misled audiences and triggered harm to Johar’s popularity by implying he was a part of the undertaking.
The court docket agreed, stating that solely Karan Johar has the authorized proper to make use of his identify and public id for enterprise or inventive ventures. Any use by a 3rd celebration with out permission is a transparent violation of his persona rights. A duplicate of the court docket’s detailed order is anticipated to be launched quickly.
Karan Johar is a famend filmmaker in Hindi cinema, identified for guiding iconic movies like Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, and My Identify Is Khan. He has formed fashionable Bollywood with grand storytelling, emotional depth and visible aptitude.
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