Exclusive! Suniel Shetty on deepfake and mimicry: I am fine with mimicry, but not mockery

In October, the Bombay High Court grantedSuniel Shetty interim relief against the unauthorised use of his image and likeness, particularly through AI-generated deepfakes and impersonations.

The landmark order not only directs platforms to remove infringing content but also extends “John Doe” protection to cover his family, setting a precedent for personality rights in the digital age. Reacting to the verdict, Suniel says this isn’t just about him — it’s about responsibility. “It is just a reminder to those idiots that don't do anything without checking on stuff. It's not about being the first one to break the news. The news has to be right, otherwise it's abuse,” he says bluntly, adding, “Good journalism also gets its reach. I blog myself, and I feel every article that comes from the bottom of my heart is something that reaches the maximum amount of people.”

'I don't want somebody to use my image and make a business out of it'The actor explains that the intent behind his petition was never to control the narrative, but to protect what’s personal. “I want to protect my family. I'm not going to get after anybody and everybody who's going to talk about us, write about us, or use our pictures. You can always use pictures by asking — so it’s copyrighted. Tomorrow, I don't want somebody to use my image and make a business out of it,” he adds. “So that’s just a reminder to everybody — there is a historical judgement that has been given. Be cautious. If you are right, I don't have a problem with anything. But if you're going to run me down just because you feel you have the pen in your hand, it's not going to work.”'All of us are just trying to remind people that we are humans too'Multiple Bollywood celebrities have moved to the court against deepfake videos. Suniel adds, “A lot of innocent people in the country, believe that it is true. And nobody is there if you explain things to them. So, I think all of us are just trying to remind people that we are humans too. See the human side of us. We have family, we get hurt, we bleed, we have tears. We have our good days. We have our bad days. So just treat us like that.”'Okay with mimicking but not mockery'Suniel insists he has no issue with imitation done in good spirit. Earlier this year, a video went viral of the Border actor where he was unpleased by a mimicry artist mimicking him on stage in Jaipur. “I don’t have a problem with people mimicking me. I have a lot of people who’ve grown and who are stars today, mimicking me — and I’m very close to them. But mockery is not what I expect. When I was in Jaipur and if somebody had done an Anjali dialogue, I’d still be okay with that. But when you talk about Dharti, and you talk about Ma, and you’re talking about my country and making a mockery of that, I’m not going to allow you to do that. Because this is playing somewhere else in some other part of the world where people don’t like us and are saying, ‘Oh, this is how their country is.’ You have no right — because I played a real hero in that. I’m not playing a character out of imagination.”” he says firmly. He adds, “That’s why I was upset and I said what I did on stage. I’m someone who’s open about anything and everything that happens in my life. I’ve been as honest as I can be.”