"This is trolling, this is not fair criticism."
Actor Naga Chaitanya has approached the Delhi High Court seeking legal protection of his personality rights.
The suit was filed over the alleged unauthorised use of his name, image, merchandise and deeply harmful AI-generated content circulating online.
His legal team also flagged the existence of pornographic content falsely depicting the actor in objectionable and fabricated situations online.
The matter was heard by Justice Jyoti Singh after Senior Advocate Vaibhav Gaggar presented the concerns before the court on behalf of the actor.
Gaggar submitted that several websites were actively using Chaitanya’s name alongside explicit search terms to attract traffic and circulate objectionable material.
One of the primary concerns raised before the court related specifically to AI-generated videos falsely depicting the actor in deeply inappropriate situations.
The suit also flagged the use of deepfake technology, voice-cloning software and digital manipulation tools to fabricate audiovisual content for commercial gain.
Defamatory content related to his personal life was also brought to the court’s attention during the hearing of the matter.
Particularly troubling was content that falsely suggested Chaitanya had cheated on his former wife Samantha Ruth Prabhu and destroyed her career.
His lawyer took strong exception to this specific category of content and drew a clear distinction between criticism and targeted harassment.
Advocate Gaggar argued: “This is trolling, this is not fair criticism.”
The court was also shown unauthorised merchandise listings that were using Chaitanya’s likeness without his consent or any form of authorisation.
His legal team pointed out that Chaitanya is one of the leading figures in the Telugu film industry with a well-established and respected career.
It was also noted during proceedings that the Delhi High Court had previously secured the personality rights of his father, veteran actor Nagarjuna.
Defamatory YouTube videos targeting the actor were additionally flagged in court, with the legal team urging that they be taken down immediately.
While some of the flagged links were removed during the course of the proceedings, others connected to news reports remained accessible online.
The court acknowledged the complexity of the matter and observed that public figures were indeed more exposed to scrutiny than private individuals.
The court also remarked that one of the alleged infringing links that was shown appeared to be borderline in its nature.
Chaitanya’s lawyer responded by highlighting that such harmful content surfaces on a daily basis, making a case for a dynamic and ongoing injunction.
The suit argues that the fabricated content has caused serious and lasting harm to Chaitanya’s reputation, dignity, privacy and overall public image.
The court issued a summons in the suit and indicated clearly that it would pass an interim order in the matter going forward.
The case has been listed for its next hearing on September 30, 2026, when further arguments and directions are expected to follow.
The case also inevitably draws attention to Naga Chaitanya’s very public personal history, which has been a target of online speculation for years.
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